


Galenica

by elenai_7



Category: Shingeki no Kyojin | Attack on Titan
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, BAMF!Levi, BAMF!Mikasa, Eren and Jean are adults only on paper, F/M, Hange stop breaking things, Interns & Internships, M/M, Mother hen Marco, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Pharmaceutical Chemistry, Scientific language, Slow Build, various POV
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-10-26
Updated: 2019-01-06
Packaged: 2019-01-23 16:51:11
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 11
Words: 50,204
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12511888
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/elenai_7/pseuds/elenai_7
Summary: Eren always said that nobody could be worse than Shadis.But then he got assigned as a trainee to the Titan Pharmacy.- Or that time Eren understood that those who need the most never ask.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Further clarifications below. Sorry that the first chapter somehow turned into a big note.

Hi guys! I'm glad you decided to click and scroll just to stay with me for a little. I'm not English nor American and my first language is NOT English, so expect to find grammatical and punctuation errors in the next chapters. I've done my best to correctly conjugate various verbs but man, I've never really understood Your use of the various pasts. In my native language we only have one and we use it regardless a thing has happened 5 minutes ago or during the Paleolithic, so please keep up with me.

I don't know how often I'm gonna post (university and stuff), although I'm getting close to the Christmas break and I will have quite a lot of spare time. I would really appreciate even a minimal help with picking up the errors, since it bothers me if a text is not fluid or contains raging mistakes and I don't want to make you read something that's not well-written. 

I openly hope to obtain positive response, although the fanfic contains really a lot of scientific and chemical therms and expressions (and I can't evaluate objectively if it's just too much and I'm boring you) and I clearly don't know when to stop deepening descriptions.

I can promise you, though, that only the first chapters will contain much more scientific stuff, because I have to properly shape the AU. Somewhere around the 6th-7th chapter I'll start putting in mostly plot, so don't worry. (The first chapters contain plot as well, of course, but there's just more describing) 

You can skip to the proper first chapter now.

 

\- Just if you're interested:

 

I'm now going to explain a bit how the Faculty works. You don't have to read it since it's not crucial knowledge you'll need to understand this Alternate Universe, but it might be helpful. I'm writing everything based on my personal experience, but since I'm a fifth year's student in Italy, I don't think some of the pharmaceutical laws I'll be describing in further chapters will be applicable universally. Just pretend it's all okay.

The Faculty has a complexive duration of five years. Each year is divided in two semesters that contain various subjects, and exams' sessions are in January and February for the first semester and in June, July and September for the second one.

FIRST YEAR

First semester:

Mathematics

Vegetal and Animal Biology

Scientific English

Second semester: Physics

Inorganic Chemistry

Anatomy

 

SECOND YEAR: First semester:

Organic Chemistry I

Analityical Chemistry (basically statistics and boring stuff)

Chemical and Toxicological Analysis of inorgacin compounds (practical lab: they give us a lot of identically-looking white powders and we have to identify them) Second semester:

Biochemistry

Chemical Physics

Physiology

Medical Microbiology

 

THIRD YEAR:

First semester:

Organic Chemistry II

Quantitative Chemical and Toxicological Analysis of inorganic compounds (practical lab)

Molecular Biology

Pathology

Second semester:

Pharmaceutical Chemistry I

Pharmacognosy (these two are all about molecules contained in drugs)

Physic Methods in Organic Chemistry (not a student's favorite)

 

FOURTH YEAR

First Semester: Food Chemistry

Chemical and Toxicological Analysis of organic compounds(practical lab)

Toxicology (how bad drugs are for your health)

Pharmaceutical Chemistry II

Applied Pharmaceutical Chemistry

Second Semester:

Pharmaceutical Chemistry II (they're not very original with names)

Drug Delivery Systems

Pharmaceutical Technology and Legislation (practical lab, the one Shadis is teaching in this fix. It's basically a lab that should give us sufficient practical basis to prepare drugs in a Pharmacy)

 

FIFTH YEAR: Internship (in Italy it lasts six months, but I guess it'll be more fun if Eren and Levi will be forced to spent a whole year together)

Two minor courses that a student can choose from a list of fifteen or so

Master's thesis

God I'm sure I'm boring you.


	2. Chapter 2

Eren was running.  
He was late and screwed and he should've listened to Mikasa when she'd told him to check if he'd set the morning alarm. It was a good thing he and Armin had spent the last four years trying to discover every corner of the campus.  
He took the first turn left and bypassed the long forgotten ex-library on the back of the Biotechnology Faculty.  
He could still be there in time, he just had to make his way through a bit more than fifty excited and soon to be first-years who were nagging the older and a lot more bored students who "worked" (more like "were extremely underpayed for all the hours they spent trying not to have an aneurysm") at the E.A.T. stand. Educational Aid and Tutoring. The campus and its all-present acronyms. Eren didn't feel very inclined to contemplate this problem.

He almost didn't see Sasha waving in his direction from her E.A.T. desk. He bowed his head in what he hoped was a friendly greeting, even if he was dying inside and had never particularly liked her in the mornings, when she yet had to devour her third breakfast. He sprinted the last two hundred meters, silently blessing his persistence on joining the Orienteering team, and finally stopped in front of the Gates of Hell.  
Maybe he was being overdramatic, but in his short personal experience he'd never quite gotten to know anything as hideous and nerve-wrecking as the Secretariat of Pharmacy and its dirty, brown walls. Mrs. Müller's will to help students was comparable to Connie's one for cleaning. Close to non-existent. But then there was his Faculty's library and Mrs. Müller's twin sister. They did say evil usually appeared in pairs.  
Eren sighed in relief at the sight of only two students in the waiting line and opened his bag, looking for his admission documents.  
  
He'd fought with everything he'd had, for countless days and nights in those past four years of education, reading and learning, until his sanity had almost left him and his will to live had gotten even thinner. He'd been existing only for one purpose and it'd been the same since he'd learned the real reason his parents had died for. A Master's Degree in Pharmaceutical Chemistry would bring him closer to pulling that bastards down. It had to.  
He was only one internship away from getting out. One, twelve months long, thirty-six hours per week internship in a Pharmacy. No, not an internship in a pharmaceutical industry or perhaps in a research laboratory. Not an internship that could be useful for his future purposes. His Pharmaceutical Legislation's Professor had tried to explain them that it was the only thing that still kept them in the category of Health Care Professions and without it their Faculty would probably have been abolished years ago. Overall, it was not such a high prize to pay. Maybe.  
  
Eren snapped back to reality as he heard the rumor of Mrs. Müller's beloved stamp on whatever documents she was validating, and not long after the students thanked her and turned to leave.  
He pulled out his Advanced Synthesis in Organic Chemistry book and then opened the front cover, sliding the slightly wrinkled documents through the thin opening in the glass that divided him and Mrs. Müller. He passed a hand though his hair in a subconscious gesture. Mrs. Müller restrained herself from commenting on his truly last minute arrival. She did not however hide her profound distaste at the state of the paper pages. Eren wondered if maybe she and her sister had switched roles. It was a disturbing thought.  
  
"Mr. Yaeger. What has brought you here?" she asked in a nasally voice, eyeing him from behind her ugly, purple glasses.  
Like she didn't know, that old harpy. Eren tried to remain patient, thinking about internal peace and virtue, and calmly responded:  
  
"I'm here to submit my admission documents for the fifth year's internship".  
She just threw him another glance and then started to type the data in a purposefully slow manner. Eren glanced at the clock. It was 9:54 AM. The submission deadline was at 10 AM. He'd tried to rush her once and then he'd had to wait one month and two days for the validation of an exam. He'd learnt his lesson and had become a wiser man.  
His palms might have started sweating.  
  
"Mr. Yaeger. Since you are the last one to be registered, I cannot guarantee you that the Pharmacy you have listed as your 'preferred choice' will have an available position, even if it's you", she put more weight on the last part of the phrase. Eren tried not to scowl.  
"The Secretariat is, however, bound to find you a position, should a situation like this occur" she then added with a disgusted frown, and Eren could place bets on her preferring to saw her hand off.  
"In that case, though, you will not be able to modify the choice" she concluded, looking pleased.  
Eren just looked at her and nodded in agreement. He was tired and on the verge of a nervous breakdown from the 9 exams he'd had to squeeze in the last 6 months and from his constant toxic view of life and of himself. Okay, maybe he was exaggerating, but he honestly couldn't care less about the Pharmacy he would have to go to. It was a pure formality. And nobody could be worse than Shadis. This thought almost made him feel better.  
Mrs. Müller took another excruciatingly long moment to print him a receipt of his successful admission and informed him that the final graded list would be published the next morning.  
Cool. Eren didn't actually care. He was just happy that Mikasa would spare his life now that he managed to enlist.  
  
He made his way out, thinking about his probably last free afternoon, and picked a random direction. To his right, behind all of the other Secretariats, there was a little spot that sold used scholastic textbooks. Beside it, the Pharmacognosy Faculty could be seen in its not really brilliant glory. Some time ago the building had been a part of Legal Medicine and Eren, Armin, Jean, Annie and Reiner, under Mikasa's disapproving glare, had managed to sneak in and see an autopsy by pretending they were first year's Medical students.  
Eren chuckled at the thought. Poor Armin had gone there only because Eren had insisted, but after three minutes he'd been in the corridor again, crouched beside a trash can with Mikasa patting his back. Jean and Reiner had taken off not long after, declaring the autopsy had been "fuckin' creepy", but Eren had seen the expressions on their faces as various organs had been examined. Annie'd looked unimpressed at best and it was very unsettling since they were neighbors.

Eren was living in a quite big apartment he and Armin had found thanks to an ad that had been pinned among dozens others on one of the information boards placed in the campus. They had come to Sina for a couple of days with Mikasa to undergo the admission exam that consisted of eighty multiple response questions on various scientific topics. In that brief spat of time they'd had to find an accommodation for the next five years, since the campus' dormitories were divided based on students' sex and quite far apart. Mikasa had been unmovable in her decision not to leave Eren alone.  
The apartment had a surprisingly low monthly rent and the mysterious reason behind its inexpensiveness, as they'd soon discovered, was the fact that everything it contained was at least thirty years old. The water heather included.  
It consisted of six bedrooms, one with a private bathroom, other two bathrooms, a balcony that could fit two people who didn't mind a total lack of personal space and a kitchenette in one of the corners of a big living room. Three bedrooms had been already occupied by four other first year's students: Jean and Marco, who'd chosen Pharmaceutical Chemistry as well, in two single bedrooms and Connie and Sasha, future Physics, in the one with the private bathroom. It still was not clear if they were a couple or not, although after four years of suspicious rumors coming from behind the closed door it was quite probable. But then, Sasha could emit every kind of sound when she was eating.  
Eren would've never thought they'd be able to afford a single room for each one of them, but Mikasa, with her great power of persuasion supplied by some well placed, implicit threats, had managed to lower the price of every room because of the general state of the apartment.  
And so they'd moved in not long after the graded list of admitted students had been published.

-

Eren took off his brown, embroidered jacket (September was that month of the year when in the morning you could easily get bronchitis but by midday free sauna was guaranteed) and hung it on a dated hanger that was placed beside the door. Throwing the keys in a box on a bedside table they'd put in the corridor due to serious lack of physical space anywhere else, he made his way to one of the three couches that were positioned around a small table in the living room.  
Every one of them had a multicolored blanket they'd bought from a street vendor down the road, who'd assured them they were original, Indian work. For 5 dollars each.  
It had been a necessary purchase, since the couches appeared brown but they knew it wasn't their original color. On the downside they were beige.  
Armin had brought a sample of the fabric to one of their microbiology lessons since they'd been learning about bacterial cultures. There hadn't been a common bacterial species the sample had not contained, so precaution it was.  
He threw himself of the couch and closed his eyes. He would just rest for a couple of minutes.

-

"Eren".  
Only one person was able to awaken Eren with one, quietly spoken word.  
  
"Mikasa!" he shouted, jumping down from the couch and trying desperately to look like he was in the middle of doing something important. It was a shame he got entangled in the blanked and went down with a heavy thud at Mikasa's feet.  
  
"It was your turn to clean the kitchen" she said with a sigh.  
Eren slowly got up, trying to coordinate his limbs with his brain's intentions. He glanced at the clock hung above the kitchenette. Fuck. 5 PM. He might have to cut his naps that usually degenerated in 6 hours of deep sleep.  
  
"I was just about to do it, but then a sudden wave of tiredness has pervaded me. I think it might have been a sign of a deeper health problem" he said, glancing sheepishly at Mikasa, who just rolled her eyes. She was visibly tired, but then she was the only not graduated student chosen to assist Shadis during his laboratory hours.  
  
"You have one hour" was the only thing she said, before turning and retiring to her room.  
Eren had never cleaned the whole kitchenette at such speed.

-

The next morning, they all gathered in front of the common computer when Marco'd announced the list had been published on their Faculty's website.  
Nobody was surprised by Mikasa's admission to the University's hospital Pharmacy. It was uncommon for Pharmaceutical Chemistry students to be picked, since there was the Hospital Pharmacy Faculty and its students had the absolute priority, but hey, nobody could stand a chance when Mikasa was involved.  
Armin got a place in a pharmacy not far from their apartment. It was small, but the owner specialized in legislation and logistic corporate planning.  
Marco and Jean both got accepted to one of the five pharmacies their faculty had suggested.  
Eren was the only one that got an email explaining that the one he'd chosen hadn't any available spots at the moment; the secretariat was still looking for a Pharmacy that would accept him, but they were likely to get a positive response in the next few hours.

Some time later, when his flatmates were all out starting their internships or attending some courses, Eren received the email. It simply contained the pharmacy's name, 'the Titan', and an address.  
He noted it was not that far away


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> This chapter is quite long and not very exciting, but it has permitted me to introduce some crucial characters and to describe the place that Eren will be spending his next year at, so a detailed description was needed.  
> Levi will be appearing soon enough, so don't worry!

On Monday Eren opened the doors of the Pharmacy and was forced to stop. His bag hit violently the back of his left leg as he tried to understand what was happening before his eyes.  
There were people everywhere, pushing and trying to get to the vending section; a young mother was being forced to rush out, because of a crying child in her arms that just wouldn't stop yelling.  
Eren had probably never seen a Pharmacy this big. It was at least five meters high and it was full of rows of shelfs, each one equipped with a precariously looking, wheeled ladder. To his left, a whole wall was dedicated to natural and herbal products, from phytopharmaceutical drugs to skin and self-care commodities. The space on the right part was distributed equally between products for newborns and children in the first phases of development and veterinarian goods. You probably could even buy furniture inside this monstrosity.  
It was quite incredible that for a place so chaotic and crowded, every surface was pristine and every product on the shelfs was aligned with mathematical precision.  
  
Eren took a deep breath and adjusted the bag on his shoulder, prying silently that his lab coat didn't wrinkle during his run. He had a feeling that to have a wrinkled coat would somehow not be tolerated here. He patted his hair, hoping to get it under control just this once. Then he caught a glimpse of himself in a mirror above some make-up products. Well, a man could dream.  
He was about to put his first step into the wildness, trying to avoid to be hit by a fervently gesticulating, fat man on his left, when a petite woman appeared right in front of him in a blur of white and red.  
She had pretty, round eyes, a bright smile and a badge saying "Dr. Ral". She extended one of her small hands and chirped:  
  
"Hi there! You must be the new guy! I'm Petra, by the way, and I was assigned to show you around since Doctor Erwin is never actually here!".  
Eren shook her hand politely, introducing himself and trying not to seem too confused or to stare too much. Mikasa had always told him that it was impolite.  
Petra gave him another of her brilliant smiles, took him by the elbow and lowered her voice, looking at him with conspiracy:  
  
"You should be glad I managed to snatch You before Hange got to know we're going to have a trainee. We've never had one and they would just keep you all to herself."  
Eren had no idea who "Hange" was (nor why did Dr. Ral refer to this person in plural) and he had no idea who "Erwin" was, but his survival instinct told him to get along with the situation and not to question anything too much. It usually worked.  
  
"Er... That's nice of you" he just said, wondering how a person so small could get through the crowd at such speed.  
  
"I already like you, God knows we only have grumps or crazy people in here" said Petra, finally arriving to the vending section.  
  
"I don't know if this statement was supposed to make this internship more appealing or not" Eren took a moment to absorb the complexity of the vending section as Petra chuckled.  
Computers and cash registers were disposed along a circular central structure that somehow reminded Eren of a garrison. The grey color only reinforced his impression.  
Inside the circle, behind every cash register stood one doctor, dispensing medical products that literally fell down from transparent tubes that disappeared somewhere in the ceiling. At the very center there was a big desk with another computer, filled with papers and documents that were disposed in precariously looking stocks.  
A bald man was perched on the chair beside said desk, with heavy, black boots on the top of it and eyes closed.  
He was sipping something from a silver flask. Eren was not one to judge or to cast false assumptions, but he was fairly sure that the liquid inside the flask was not water. Or something non-alcoholic.  
The man suddenly opened his eyes and looked straight at Eren, who found himself blushing for being caught staring. The man smirked then, a mischievous glint in his eyes, and took another swing from the flask, winking at Eren.  
He tried to reciprocate with a smile, but Petra tugged at his hand and he was forced to continue walking towards a big, white double door behind the circle with a "personnel only" metal tag hung on the right wing.  
  
"Don't worry, pretty boy, there will be plenty of time to introduce you to Pixis and his minions. Just wait till we put you inside the garrison".  
  
"The garrison, hm?" Eren then said, smiling to himself.  
  
"Oh yes, you see, Hange is not only crazy, but also a Middle Ages fanatic. They like to compare us to an army and they have these names for every place and role".  
Petra turned to face him, and then extended one arm towards the vending section.  
"This one is called the Garrison and Pixis is its Commander. He's either sleeping or drunk, but he always gets the job done and he's Erwin's ex-professor, so nobody complains" she explained with a large smile.  
  
Eren had a feeling he would get along well with the old man. He then scowled and Petra looked at him in confusion.  
"Oh it's nothing, I just can feel my wallet getting thinner. I've bet it would be a horrendous experience, but I am already sensing my defeat". Petra's smile vanished slowly. She looked hurt.  
"Oh my God no, I don't mean it like that, you're very ki-" Eren realized what he's just said but Petra started laughing loudly, making some of the clients turn towards them with dubious expressions.  
  
"S-sorry, you just looked like a kicked puppy with those big, scared eyes" she patted him on the shoulder, adjusting her coat.  
  
"And to think I took you for a nice person. I must've lost my mental faculties for a moment here" Eren murmured to himself, but Petra heard him and laughed again.  
  
"Keep up an attitude like this, pretty boy, or You will not survive long inside the Survey Corps" she said, stopping in the customer-free space close to the door.  
  
"Survey Corps..." Eren was trying to associate the name with a particular function, but he soon understood that he couldn't yet grasp Hange's logic. Although, if 'they' was supposedly crazy, maybe that was for the better.  
  
"Yup, that's Galenical Preparations for you".  
  
Eren tried not to look to excited. Every Pharmacy was supposed to have a galenical laboratory, but he knew for a fact that for the most part they only prepared ointments and capsules containing non-toxic powders. Like kitchen salt (but for real). Officinal and magistral preparations were as close as he could get to an experience resembling the real industrial research laboratories.  
He supposed his excitement was being poorly contained, as Petra asked him, amused: "You're at the Trost, right?" and then, seeing his affermative nod, "who did you have in the Tech lab?".  
  
"Professor Shadis," Eren's body shook involuntarily. He licked his lips. "It's been a particular year".  
Petra laughed again.  
  
"I bet it was! He's been the Captain of the Survey Corps for quite some time, until he's decided he's had enough of our 'sorry arses' for a lifetime and gone teaching poor undergrads. I was still a newbie, but I got my fair share of hand whooping as well," she said, pushing the heavy door.  
Eren unconsciously stroked his wrists, following her.  
As he'd already and repeatedly said, no one could be worse than Shadis, even if the man had taught him everything he knew about preparing.  
  
"This here is the corridor leading to the lab. On the right you have the lockers. Just leave all your stuff in one of the unoccupied ones. You can either bring a spare pair of shoes - rigorously new and clean - or you can put on those plastic covers they give you at the airport too. Contamination must be minimized. Once you've changed, you enter through the sliding door at the end. It's got a source of UV sterilizing rays in the upper part, so even if you have to exit the lab to go to another part of the building, you don't necessarily have to take off your coat, even if it's preferable. The shoes though, you HAVE to remember to change them every time. If you don't, you're on the shelf duty for a week. And trust me, he makes you use a ruler to array those damn boxes," Petra instructed him, looking vaguely anxious as she glanced through her shoulder, as if the source of her misery was about to appear right behind her.  
Eren tried to concentrate to absorb every detail. He had a thing for unintentionally violating universe's rules.  
  
He glanced at Petra and said half-jokingly: "I bet you even have a separate cleanroom in the lab".  
  
"Oh, we actually have two of them, but I'm not sure if you're qualified to enter them".  
Eren just gaped.  
"I guess you thought we were one of those half-assed Pharmacies that sell homeopathy," she looked at him and Eren tried not to appear guilty. It was a shame he couldn't hide his emotions even when his life depended on it.  
"Don't worry. I gotta ask Doctor Erwin about the cleanroom, but even I entered it only twice and only the Mike's one".  
  
"That's okay, I don't think being in a cleanroom is one of the crucial points of the internship experience," said Eren, discharging his belongings inside the locker number 104, pulling out his coat and taking two shoes-covers.  
He would have to ask Marco to take him shoe-shopping, since he was quite clueless.  
He could ask Jean, too, but there was an unspoken monthly limit to the moments they could spend in each other's company without committing physical violence.  
He turned and saw Petra a few meters away, changing her shoes. He waited for further instructions.  
  
"Once we're inside, you put the gloves on. We've got a whole closet containing basal safety objects. The gloves are powder-free and they come in every size. If you're allergic to latex, we will provide you with the nitrile ones. In the closet, you'll find protective googles and face masks. We tend to put on those filtering very fine powders, but we've got the simple ones too. Once you use one, you discharge it in a special container".  
  
"Yup, don't wanna inhale all that fine powder anyways if I just hang if down on my neck," Eren interrupted.  
  
"Wow, pretty AND clever," she regarded him with amusement.  
  
"Hah, I wish I knew it thanks to my power of deduction, but I once saw one of my colleagues take off her mask like this to eat a boiled potato that she stole from the Uni's canteen. Shadis made her sterilize three labs with a toothbrush," Eren admitted as Petra laughed.  
  
They were both in front of the door.  
Eren was starting to feel a bit nervous.  
He still wasn't happy about the internship, but he sure as hell was going to ace it. For him it's always been all or nothing, regardless of the task.  
  
"Calm down, Eren" Petra looked at him sympathetically. "I'm sure everybody's gonna like you and even if they don't, I'm sure you're still capable. You're the first trainee here and I know for a fact that Erwin would not admit just anybody. He must've gone through your whole student's career and apparently he liked what he saw, since you're here today".  
  
"Thank you. I've worked hard to be where I am," Eren responded, feeling touched by Petra's admissions. He was sure it wasn't her job to morally support newcomers and he was grateful.  
  
"You're welcome. Don't get used to nice words, though. I'm the only one with a common sense in here," she said, passing through the door. "Oh, and remember. Do not touch ANYTHING if you've not received a direct permission to touch it. And do not change the disposition of things".  
Eren was about to ask why everything was so rigorous, when he saw the laboratory and stopped on his track.  
It was at least eighty meters square, approximately as big at his university's one that could contain 70 spastic students.  
On the left, there were five four-meters long counters equipped with every kind of item one would need in a pharmaceutical laboratory.  
There were 3 Bunsen flames on every side of each counter and the same number of electromagnetically induced plates.  
Two analytical weight scales were placed near the left edge of every counter. White cabinets in the lower part probably contained glassware, mortars, spatulas and other necessary utensils, if four years of pharmaceutical and chemical laboratories have taught Eren something.  
Across every counter, on the right wall, there were brand new, laboratory fume hoods and two of them were clearly destined to distillation, because of the huge rota-vapors they contained. Eren has once worked with wooden hoods. It was a miracle nobody ever ignited anything while working under those things.  
Laboratory glassware was neatly stocked in three high closets beside the entry doors.

"Are you done with the gaping?" Petra poked him in the ribs, and Eren let out a not so manly shriek. To try to regain his dignity ai this point was difficult, so he resolved to threateningly staring.  
"Come, I'm gonna show you around. Behind the hoods, there are two other rooms" she said as she led the way.  
Eren skipped past two men directed towards the hoods, holding different test tubes.  
  
"This one here is the weight room," she explained, pointing to the first door with a round window.  
Eren took a look inside to see a blonde woman with round glasses and a concentrated look on her face, as she weighted what seemed to be a white, crystalline powder.  
"We have six analytical weight scales in here. There are no windows and air flow is controlled to minimize any measurement error. We weight our substances here, the scales on the counters are used mainly for the weight uniformity control," Petra explained, but she did not open the door, probably not to disrupt the blonde.  
Eren knew that it took very little to variate the decimate figures that appeared on the display.  
"The other door leads to the reagents' storage. We have reagents for quali and quantitative chemical analysis that we mainly use to check on the proper concentration and formulation of the reagents we use for the drug preparations, but I guess you're already accustomed to various essays. In there, we store all the substances with pharmaceutical and therapeutical properties as well as all the excipients. There is a communicating door between the reagents' room and the weigh room. And there -" she pointed to her left "- are the cleanrooms".

Just as Petra spoke those words, an exceptionally tall man emerged from one of them. He took off the cape and the face mask and then peeled off the gloves. He discharged everything in a nearby bin and passed a hand through his blonde hair with a heavy sight. He seemed tired.  
"And that handsome peace of candy is Mike," Petra said and the man, Mike, looked up to meet her eyes. His expression softened a bit and a small smile curved his lips, as he came towards them.  
  
"Hello there" he said, putting a strand of Petra's red hair behind her ear and turning to face Eren, who quickly lift his right hand.  
  
"I'm Eren, I'm your new trainee".  
  
Mike looked at him with an unreadable expression and glanced at Eren's hand that was slowly beginning to drop.  
At last, after a gesture that was unsettlingly comparable to a deep sniff, Mike clasped it in a firm handshake.  
  
"I'm Mike. I'm one of the Preparations' Squad Leaders. Welcome to the Titan's laboratory."  
  
"Thank you. I'm glad I can be a part of such a professional Pharmacy," Eren said, shaking Mike hand vigorously before dropping it. ' _You're so full of shit, you bastard,_ ' he thought to himself. 20 minutes ago he was rightfully hating all this experience.  
  
Mike was about to respond, but he stopped with his lips half-parted.  
Eren looked at him with confusion, but Mike's eyes were focused on something behind Eren's left shoulder. Eren turned his head to take a look, but he found himself less than a centimeter away from a pair of wide opened, brown eyes hidden behind a pair of squared googles. Brown hair tickled his cheek and an irregular breath ghosted at the base of his neck as a shaking hand closed on his right shoulder, cutting off any chance of escape.  
  
"Uhm, Hange, how about we all stay calm and release the boy?" Petra said, lifting her arms in a calming gesture as if she was speaking to a wild animal.  
The hand that was grasping Eren's shoulder tightened a bit more as Hange spoke with something dangerously close to ecstasy in their voice.  
  
"So... is... it... him".  
  
"Please, I might hate my life but I actually don't want to die yet" Eren said, closing his eyes and trying to make himself small.  
Hange let out a maniacal laughter, but they loosened the grip on his shoulder.  
  
"You little shits, you were hoping I wouldn't notice him, weren't you?" they said with an unexpected perceptiveness and Petra looked down, her hand tugging at her ponytail.  
Hange turned Eren around and looked directly into his eyes. Eren momentarily understood why Petra did not refer to them by a defined gender.  
"Hi there, soldier. I'm Survey Corps' commander and I do the research. If you want to, I can tell you all about my current projects..." Petra and Mike were vigorously shaking their heads somewhere to Eren's left "... and then I can experiment on you".  
Eren's eyes went wide.  
"I mean, with you, not on you" Hange laughed again, but Eren had a presentiment theirs had not been a mistake.  
He tried to plan his escape, but the exit door was behind Doctor Hange. God hated him.  
  
"Hange, this is Eren's first day here, today he's only doing some recognition of the place. And I'm fairly sure that he will have to divide his time here equally between the lab and the vendin,." Mike interrupted with a calm voice and Eren was loving him a little, in a worshipping-not-romantic way.  
Hange looked defeated for about 1.4 seconds, but then their expression changed to a calculating one and then to a triumphant one.  
  
"Heheh, I'm sure I can volunteer as his Tutor inside the Pharmacy, I just have to find a way to drug - I mean persuade - Erwin to assign him to me," they murmured, still vibrating with excitement, but they were slowly retreating as they continued to talk to themselves.  
They cast a last look at Eren, winked and disappeared behind an emergency exit door next to the cleanrooms.  
Eren let out a breath he didn't know he was holding.  
  
"Don't worry Eren, after some time you get used to them. They are actually very good at what they do and their squad respects them deeply. Just don't let themtalk about their experiments, no matter what. If you do, you'll spend an entire night in here," Petra said and Eren had a feeling she knew those things from personal experience.  
Mike just looked at her smugly and Petra smacked his upper arm.  
  
"What? I was just trying to be nice! It's not my problem that all you lot have deeply ingrained, psychological limits!" she said as Mike laughed.  
  
"You still picked me, though" he said and Petra rolled her eyes.  
  
"You ingrate".  
Eren was staring to feel uncomfortable. He was clearly invading some bickering-couple time, but Mike put a hand on his shoulder and reassured him:  
  
"I'm going to call Erwin, so don't worry about being stuck with Hange. I'm sure you'll be with Pixis out there, but you will still need someone to supervise you in here. We've never had a trainee so I don't know about the protocols, but we could use a helping hand since we never seem to be enough in here" he said, massaging his left temple.  
Now that Eren thought of it, everybody he'd seen in here looked a bit worn out.  
"Erwin's on a conference in Copenhagen right now, but he should be back in three days or so. He'll know what you're authorized to do as a student,".Mike gave Eren's shoulder a last squeeze and then looked at Petra.  
"I have to go and write some labels now before I give the stuff to Pixis" and with a quick peck on Petra's forehead he disappeared behind the same door as Hange.

"Okay, pretty boy, guess that's enough for today. I know you should be here 8 hours per day but there's not really much we can make you do right now. I would introduce you to the rest of the staff but we're all in some deep mess right now since Dr. Erwin and the Captain are off." Petra said with an apologetic shrug and extended her hand.  
  
"That's fine, at least I'll be able to get some shoes. You should go back to whatever super important task you're assigned to. Thank you for everything," Eren shook her hand, bowing slightly, and turned towards the exit.  
  
"I would trade a kidney for some shopping right now!" Petra exclaimed from behind him and Eren chuckled, knowing damn well that he would buy the first pair of shoes that would fit him.  
Shopping was an useless, over complicated and time-consuming task and Eren was a simple man. Some things just were not meant to be compatible.

As he took his stuff and got to the vending section, he briefly pondered if he should introduce himself to Dr. Pixis, but his internal conflict was almost immediately resolved as he saw that the old man wasn't behind the desk anymore. Small blessings.  
The crowd was still there, though. He only hoped he wouldn't have to interact much with people, since the clients could get verbal and fucking rude and Eren wasn't actually good at restraining his temper. Even if he usually lost.  
He maneuvered to the exit, got out and took a deep breath. The weather was good, so he decided he would walk back to his apartment.

-

"What do you mean you're at the Titan?!" Armin exclaimed, looking at Eren with those big blue eyes.  
  
"Oh. My God. If there was any hatred towards you left in me, I'd hate you even more than I do now," Jean was looking at him too, sprawled on the sofa (straight across from Marco) in what he probably thought was a seductive pose.  
God, what a poser.  
Eren momentarily entertained a thought of telling Marco Jean's been hitting on him since day one as he gave Jean two middle fingers.  
  
"You might think I'm being dense on purpose, since my genius is a rarity few can grasp, but I really don't understand why you're all looking at me like this. Let's bother Mikasa and her fancy hospital pharmacy!" Eren pointed to his sister who very slowly turned her head towards him.  
"Heh, Mikasa, I was joking. Please don't gut me".  
  
"Eren, we're all just very proud of you".  
Everybody turned towards Marco, even if Jean murmured a phrase containing something resembling a _'hell no'_ and an _'I'd rather die'_.

Marco had always been a quiet and peaceful person, only speaking when spoken to or when he evaluated it was needed.  
Unobtrusive and trustworthy, he'd been nothing less but a perfect friend for all of them during these four years. He was so out of theirs and Jean's league.

"Marco, that's very thoughtful of you, but I really did nothing," Eren said. He'd been this confused only during his vegetal biology exam; one of the questions on the multiple response test contained two right answers. His Professor'd told him to choose the 'righter' one.  
"I was the last person to handle the papers and Mrs. Müller told me she would be the one to assign me to a pharmacy as there were probably no places left in the other ones".  
  
"Eren" Mikasa put her slender hand on his and looked at him in that way that made it impossible to look away.  
"Currently, the Titan has the best and most prestigious galenical team in the whole state. The hospital I'm in sends the Titan requests for preparations that require infallible precision, which the hospital's team possesses only to a certain point".  
Eren was watching Mikasa with eyes wide opened.  
"I had no idea they accepted trainees. Otherwise, I would have applied there" she then concluded.  
Mikasa had been the best student in every practical laboratory they'd had and she could've been accepted anywhere, so her appreciation was probably meaning a lot.  
  
"And then there are rumors..." Jean murmured, leaning towards them; his blonde fringe got caught in his lashes as he assumed a very serious expression, "that the doctor in charge of Special Preparations Squad is... Levi".

Eren would've never thought that a room containing five people could become completely noiseless.  
  
"Levi stands for Levi of whom nobody even knows the last name, who is cited in every Organic and Pharmaceutical Chemistry book as one of the most brilliant modern chemists, who's put light on many crucial synthesis mechanisms, and whose methods of measurements we've been using since year two?" he asked weakly, while his gaze was fixed on a distant point somewhere on the wall above Jean's head and his brain was trying desperately to process this information.  
  
"The very same," Jean's said, leaning back again with a satisfied smirk.  
  
"Jean, I swear that if you're shitting me I will destroy everything that's dear to you," Eren said slowly and let his gaze slip over an unsuspecting Marco to strengthen his threat. He would obviously never lay a hand on Marco, but Jean got the hint and looked at Eren hastily.  
  
"Dude, I'm only repeating what I've heard, nobody really knows where this guy's working"

Doctor Levi was someone Eren had aspired to be since year two.  
When he'd first started learning organic chemistry, he could barely understand what methan was.  
The nature of organic compounds had an intrinsic complexity that Eren found lacking in inorganic compounds. Every atom in a molecule was not only to be seen as a separate entity, with its own chemical properties, but as a part of a bigger structure where every component affected the nature of the others, varying their chemical behavior.  
It had taken him six months and five failing attempts at the written part of the exam (seriously, three problems with multi-step reaction mechanisms AND nomenclature AND stereoisomeric properties to be considered to resolve in 20 minutes. Inhuman.) to understand.

The enlightenment had come to him in form of a notebook that he'd found in a hidden crook in the wooden panel behind his usual seating place in the library.  
It'd been late, very late, and only few who possessed the library card had been present in the library at that time of the night.  
He'd been leaving, but the belt of his bag had remained entangled on the armrest and Eren had fallen, hitting the wooden panel with his elbow as he'd tried not to die because of a broken neck and an evil bag strap.  
Luckily, nobody'd been there to witness his vandal act, so he'd hurriedly tried to disguise the crook with his limited manual abilities; his worries had been superfluous as the broken wooden panel had slipped easily in its previous position. Moving it again, he'd noticed various objects behind it, discharged in the space between the wood and the wall.  
Pens, pencils, a calculator, a half-empty pack of chewing gums, even a set of keys and his annual public transport ticket, that he'd thought had been lost or stolen. And then, among all the things, a plain, black notebook.  
It had looked like various precedent occupants of Eren's seat, him included, had been deprived of some of their personal belongings that, in an unclear way , had fallen behind the panel.  
Eren had taken the notebook. He'd always been a curious person, sue him.  
Its unnaturally immaculate state had been the ultimate reason he'd taken it.  
As he'd soon discovered, the notebook had been full of neat, clear and perfectly straight writing, accompanied by extremely well drawn chemical compounds.  
It had been his bible since then.  
Well-placed assumptions, genius theories and (correct) self-deduced explanations of WHY every step in every synthesis happened.  
Whoever had written all these priceless annotations had taught Eren everything he currently knew about organic chemistry, even though a lot of new synthesis had been approved in the past years.  
That someone had a similar to his own, although much superior, intuitive way of thinking.  
Eren had never been the best in any subject, even if he'd always placed in the top ten.  
He was not innately brilliant as Mikasa nor had he Armin's deductive and methodical mental capabilities. He only truly excelled when he understood the REASON, when he grasped the logic of an event, even if that meant he would need twice as much time as the others; and once he did understand, anything related or similar to said event was not a mystery to him anymore. He just intuitively KNEW, even if often he was not able to explain the course of his thoughts and deductions to his colleagues.  
He'd placed at the top of his class that year, just as he'd had in every other following organic chemistry-related course.

During his second year's laboratory, chemical and toxicological analysis of inorganic compounds, their teacher had shown them an innovative method drafted to extract even an infinitesimal quantity of precipitate after centrifugation, an event that occurred quite often if the quantity of initial compound was scarse.  
He'd called it "the Levi's method" and had told them they could find it in their analysis books.  
Under the description of the method, there'd been a scan of a handwritten page. A handwriting Eren could've recognized among thousands of others.  
It was unfortunate that his research about 'Levi' had been pointless. It seemed the man didn't even exist before getting his Master's degree at the age of twenty-two and every information concerning the following years, with a four year gap right after the degree, was scientific discovery/new method-related.

"I don't think that's true...," Eren spoke in a quiet voice after a moment that probably had lasted ten seconds and not ten minutes.  
Everybody in the room knew about Eren's idolization of Levi and nobody biased him for it, even if at some point getting to know more about Levi had become the only thing he would focus on. I had stopped, eventually.  
"I was there this morning and they showed me the lab. I didn't meet anybody named Levi or Humanity's Most Precise," he lowered his head and rested in on the palm of his hand, shrugging and trying not to look too disappointed.  
  
"If I'd been him, I damn sure wouldn't have interrupted whatever important thing I'd been doing to shake your hand, Eren," Jean looked at him critically.  
  
"Is there anything positive about you at all, asshole? I guess I can finally understand why your life is so miserable," Eren spat and Jean started to get up from the couch.  
  
"Shut up or I'll make you feel just how pathetic yours could become".  
Mikasa stopped Eren from raising and looked at Jean, who laid down as quickly as he got up. It was a shame she could take both of them down in 0.3 seconds.

Armin, who clearly at some point got up and went to the kitchen, was now coming back, carrying a tray with a steaming teapot and five mugs.  
The mugs really were something.  
They were all hand painted.  
During first year's Christmas, they'd all gone out the day the Christmas market had opened. It had been a truly marvelous sight and Eren, who'd never been in a big city during that festive time of the year, couldn't have gazed enough. It had all been so green, golden and red.  
And when he'd seen all those happy families, with children pulling their parents by the sweets' stalls, blinking lights reflected in their eyes, he'd turned towards Mikasa.  
She'd been already looking at him, half of her face buried underneath that red scarf he'd given her so many years ago; her eyes had not left his.  
And in that moment Eren had known that he would've done anything just to be able to put that washed-up, holed scarf around her neck as long as she would've wanted him to.  
He'd taken her hand, turned to his right to look at Armin and he'd taken his hand too.  
Then he'd guided them to a small stall Marco had stopped by, a content yet pensive look on his freckled face.  
Beside him, Jean had not been looking at whatever had stolen Marco's attention.  
He'd been looking at their friend almost with revelation, slowly replaced by sadness and then determination.  
Eren had witnessed it all, but as Jean had turned his head and looked at him with frighten, his cheeks already pink from the cold, Eren had just smiled a little and tilted his head. (Later, with nobody watching, he'd wiggled his brows at Jean and had asked him if he would've needed to borrow his male anatomy atlas with very detailed drawings. He still had a small scar on his right temple where Jean's pair of keys had hit him).  
They had spent the rest of that evening painting mugs that they'd bought with what little money they'd had.  
Mikasa'd gotten one from Eren, all red with a blue, uneven "Mik(ick)as(s)a". He'd thought it was hilarious, contrary to an outraged Mikasa, whom he'd seen putting the mug carefully on the shelf in the kitchen with a small smile on her lips that same evening.  
Mikasa had made one for Armin. It was covered by a masterfully painted world map (Mikasa was no fun) with a miniature Armin, Eren and Mikasa sitting in the middle of Europe.  
Armin had given Eren a mug with "If it's not 10 am, assume I'm dead or not speaking your language" because he was a sarcastic little shit and Eren had always found mornings very difficult, being disappointed even by the sole fact of being awake.  
Jean and Marco had done their reciprocal mugs, with Marco's one for Jean being the prettiest (Jean had not deserved it) and Jean's one just covered in a mix of colors that hid an unidentifiable object that the blond had tried to paint but had ignominiously failed.  
Eren had painted a little heart at the bottom of the mug when Jean had not been watching, feeling very smug.  
As Eren snapped out of his thoughts, he noted that the others had the same thoughtful expressions, regarding the steaming mugs.  
It had been a good evening.


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Guess Jean was right.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A quick, grading explanation for later:  
> In Italy, they grade our exams from 0 to 30. 18 is the lowest sufficient grade and 30 cum laude is given in case of an exceptional performance.  
> Still un-beta read.  
> And no worries, Levi and Hange are besties.  
> Comments or anything will be very well accepted.

Eren woke up exceptionally early.  
The living room was scarcely illuminated by the first rays of the morning sun, that somehow managed to slip through the surrounding buildings and through the curtains. They made the apartment appear grey.  
He made himself a tea, black with two sugars. It had always been the same and Eren found a kind of comfort in its repeatability.  
He didn't know when the pharmacy opened its doors to the public nor did he know what time were they expecting him to arrive in the mornings.  
He slowly finished his breakfast, concluded the morning ablutions and packed his bag. He'd have to buy something for lunch, since he didn't cook anything for himself yesterday.  
Exiting quietly, he put on a scarf. He had a feeling it would be a cold morning.

-

He arrived at the Titan at five to eight am. Some people were already waiting outside the glass doors, probably to purchase medicaments because of urgency or because the morning was their only free time of the day.  
He stood aside, rubbing his hands in an attempt to oppose the cold air. Glancing inside, he could see the employees making final preparations to welcome the customers. It seemed the floor had been swept and washed, as a woman was taking away the yellow, wet floor sign. Three other people apparently just finished dusting the shelfs and were now quickly retiring in a direction which destination was hidden from Eren's point of view.  
  
At 8 am sharp, an elder doctor in a white coat, probably coming from the vending section, opened the doors.  
Eren came in, letting the soon-to-be customers pass first, as he wasn't sure if he was just supposed to go for the lab door or if he should wait for somebody to come and pick him up. Seeing as nobody was paying him much attention, he decided he would just go for the good, old taking the matters into his own hands.  
He silently made his way towards the 'Garrison' and, since nobody was stopping him, he headed to the door that abruptly opened. His face missed a very intimate encounter with it by pure luck.  
Two visibly terrified, young doctors stormed out of the corridor, each carrying a box with cleaning supplies and missing Eren by centimeters.  
Eren furrowed his brows, but there was no screaming or further agitation, so he stepped inside and deposited his belongings in the 104th locker. At this rate it would become permanently his. He smiled a little, changed his shoes, put on his fleshly pressed coat (Marco was the best, he could've been their collective mother) and passed through the laboratory door.

At first he thought that maybe it was still closed, since there was no movement or noice of any kind.  
Then, thanks to his extraordinary observation skills, he noted that there were people indeed, all dressed up and engaged in various tasks, but nobody was speaking and their general behavior suggested they were strongly trying not to be seen and to occupate as little space as possible. It was all a bit strange, but Eren was new here. Maybe it was some kind of a morning routine.  
He shrugged and went to the nearest closet, pulling out a pair of latex gloves, googles and a mask. Then he noticed Petra and smiled, stopping at her side. She greeted him silently, although her enthusiasm from the day before seemed completely vanished.  
Just as he was going to ask her if she was alright, the door of the reagents room opened.  
  
"Did I or did I not tell you to titrate all the godforsaken shelf 2F."  
The sentence might've been composed as a question, but had been spoken as an affirmation.  
A tall man with dark, particularly styled hair slowly came out, holding his arms out protectively in front of himself.  
  
"Yes, sir."  
Following him, there was another man.  
The first thing that Eren noticed about him was his surprisingly low height. His black hair was parted perfectly and his narrow, grey eyes were looking at the tall doctor with what could seem utter indifference, but there was something deeply menacing about that gaze.  
  
"Now that we've established that your small brain has indeed registered the task you were supposed to complete while I was gone, Gunther, why am I not seeing the results?" the small man asked. He did not yell, just spoke, yet maybe it would've been better if he had raised his voice.  
  
"But sir, we all thought you were supposed to come back with Doctor Erw..." the man named Gunther started to explain, only to be interrupted.  
  
"Do I look like I care about your meaningless explanation, Gunther?".  
  
"N-no, sir".  
  
"Then do your damn job and finish it before midday".  
It looked like the tall one was about to continue the polemic, but the look the smaller one was giving him could probably ignite, so he just bowed his head and disappeared in the room again.  
  
"Wow, rude".  
Eren did not want to pronounce those words aloud. It was a good thing they came out only as a whisper, seeing that Petra loudly inhaled and stilled beside him.  
The small man could've not heard them. Yet, he slowly turned around and his gaze trapped Eren's.  
The eye contact lasted for maybe a fraction of a second, yet the hatred in the man's eyes had petrified Eren.  
  
"Petra".  
  
"Yes, sir," the woman responded, straightening her posture.  
  
"Why is there a kid in my laboratory? You have two seconds, since my patience today is particularly thin".  
  
"He's our new trainee and his name is Eren, sir".  
  
"I am not a kid and I can respond on my own" Eren said. He was young and inexperienced, but he did not deserve to be treated as a part of decorum. He felt his cheeks heat up.  
The black-haired man walked towards him, stopping at a very small distance. Eren might've been taller, yet he couldn't be anything but overwhelmed by the man's imposing presence.  
  
"I call things like I see them, brat".  
  
Eren's hands clenched into fists, but the man's attention was again directed to Petra, as if Eren was not worth considering more than simply acknowledging his existence.  
  
"So this is the reason Erwin made me come back two days earlier?" he said, anger finally slipping into his voice.  
  
"Sir, I cannot tell you what Doctor Erwin's intentions were since I've not spoken to him personally," Petra responded politely. She seemed almost capable of remaining unaffected, even if her shaking right hand was suggesting the opposite.  
  
"I can't believe that bastard is actually making me do this. Can't that freak with the ugly googles take him?" He asked, directing his hand towards Eren, but his question seemed placed to nobody in particular.  
  
"Oh," Petra spoke quietly with understanding in her voice. The man just continued to look at her from beneath his black fringe. There were shadows under his eyes.  
"I am to understand you've been assigned to tutor him, sir".  
  
Eren looked at her in disbelieving. It was what desperation felt like, then.  
"Why does it have to be him? I'd rather go with Doctor Hange" he said, staring at her pleadingly, as if she could be the solution.  
  
"Since I would rather carve both my eyes and eat them for breakfast than tutor a fucking child, but that apparently is not a reason good enough not to force me into doing this, I suggest you shut your mouth and speak when spoken to" the man said with a tone cutting off any continuation of the discussion, and then pinched the bridge of his nose with a quiet ' _Tch_ '. Closing his eyes, he added: "I can _hear_ your outrage. Stop it. It's pointless and I don't need you wasting any more of my time," opening his eyes after a heartbeat to look briefly at Eren, who was truly trying not to tell him to fuck off.  
He had a distinctive feeling the man exercised some kind of power in the laboratory and a ' _fuck you_ ' would not be very helpful, given his current, shitty situation. God damn this man and this fucking internship.  
  
"I don't need a trainee, especially if said trainee is an idiot," the man said with finality. "Your Organic Chemistry grades".  
  
Eren took a moment to process that the statement was a question at that it was directed at him. As the man looked like he was slowly losing what little was left of his will to live, Eren's anger mutated into confusion.  
  
"Thirty in Organic Chemistry I and Thirty cum laude in Organic Chemistry II," he responded slowly, trying to grasp the purpose of the question, since he should be doing galenical preparations and not complicated synthesis.  
The man didn't spare him another glance, turning and heading over to the cleanrooms.  
  
"I'll accept Erwin's decision once you've submitted a description of a plausible, chemical procedure that can be used to determine the correct molecular pathway of the Bamberger-Hughes-Ingold reaction. You have two days. In the meantime, do something with yourself. I'm busy," he said, not bothering to face Eren and Petra.  
  
"But we've learned about PROBABLE steps of the reaction because the real pathway is still UNKNOWN," Eren said, incredulous, hoping that maybe if he pointed out those small yet relevant facts, this man would realize the impossibility of the task.  
  
"Did I fucking stutter?" the man turned around, looking Eren right in the eye.  
  
"N-no, sir".  
  
"Then why do you think that 'unknown mechanism' classifies as my problem, when it clearly doesn't?" he said, facing the cleanrooms again and disappearing in the prep-section behind the entrance.  


Eren slowly closed his eyes. Maybe if he would strongly focus, it would all become a dream and he'd still be in his kitchenette.  
His hope, unfortunately and unsurprisingly, was crushed as he realized he still was in the laboratory, under everyone's badly hidden scrutiny, and he still had to complete an unsolvable task.  
He let out a small, helpless laughter.  
  
"Eren," Petra reached out and took his upper arm. "He might seem harsh, but the Captain is not actually that bad" she said, sounding unconvinced even to herself, as she smiled apologetically.  
  
"Not... that bad...," Eren repeated slowly. "It seems he hates everybody just because they dare to exist. I would've never thought so much malice could be contained in a body so small".  
Petra chuckled.  
  
"Well, that's actually an appropriate description of Doctor Levi".  
Eren turned his head so fast he hurt his neck and hissed in pain.  
"Eren, everything's okay? I know Doctor Levi didn't go easy on you, but he's always like this. You just have to ignore the insults and filter the actual commands" Petra said, looking at him with concern.  
Eren just stood there, massaging his neck and praying whatever God would listen to him that there were two ' _Levi_ 's. It could not be that an uncommon name, could it?  
  
"Petra. When you say Doctor Levi...," he couldn't even formulate the question.  
  
"I mean Levi the mysterious, genius chemist, known also as Humanity's Most Precise. Not many Levis out there," she responded matter-of-factly.  
  
  
Eren excused himself. He slowly peeled off his unused gloves, put the glasses back on their shelf and stocked the mask away, since he didn't even have the opportunity to put it on. He didn't want to behavior like a man who'd lost everything, but he realized he was doing just that as he said down on a small bench beside the lockers and put his head in his hands.  
It was a good thing he still had to occupy himself with something because, well, imposed internship, since the only thing he could think about was that his university idol was, in all likelihood, a sadistic asshole.  
He would never be able to write any damn 'description', not even in one month. He would be thrown out of the Pharmacy and he would have to lose the whole year. He would be left behind.  
Eren allowed himself two other minutes of desperation, deciding that he would dwell on the problem later, since he was almost on the verge of a breakdown.  
He stood up and got out of the corridor. His presence in the laboratory was now futile and undesired, so vending section it was. Eren just hoped that Pixis was nicer.

The crowd was now bigger, but still containable. Eren didn't want to disrupt anybody's work, so he stopped a bit to the side of the 'Garrison' and looked out for the bald man. As it turned out, the man was already looking at him with a slight smile. He lowered his head in an inviting gesture, still looking at Eren. Well, at least Pixis didn't seem murderous. This thought encouraged Eren a bit, so he stepped inside the circle and went to the old man's desk.  
  
"Well, here you are, boy," he said, crossing his arms.  
  
"I'm Eren Jeager. It's a pleasure to meet you, Doctor Pixis," Eren said, taking out his hand that Pixis shook immediately with surprising vigor.  
  
"Weren't you meant to spent the morning with the Preparations Squad out there?"he asked it what could've seemed a light tone, but Pixis' eyes were inquisitive.  
Eren sighed and tried to keep his explanation short.  
  
"Premising I don't really know what I should be doing in here, I just got assigned an infeasible task by a man that should be my tutor for the next year and got dismissed right after," he said, shrugging and trying not to look miserable. It wasn't a look he pulled off with dignity.  
To his surprise, Pixis let out a bark of laughter and held out his flask.  
  
"Wanna try?" he said.  
  
"Thank you, but I'd rather wait at least 'till the afternoon," Eren responded, not knowing how to hint that he wasn't a raging alcoholic. Yet.  
Pixis just laughed again, took a deep swing and stood up with unexplainable agility.  
  
"I deduce that old bastard Levi is supposed to tutor you in there, am I right?"  
Pixis asked and Eren nodded, trying not to wince at the mention of the name.  
  
"Come on, I'm gonna leave you with Hannes now. You'll come back to me once you've seen the basics, otherwise you'll be just disturbing," Pixis said, but his voice was gentle. He directed Eren towards the same Doctor that had opened the Pharmacy.  
Everyone here was tall, except for Levi.  
The Doctor greeted Eren with a short ' _call me Hannes_ ' and told him he'd be taking him to see the magazine. They went to a spiral staircase hidden behind a scaffold.  
  
"You know, he's just as a bastard as he is a genius. His squad is much better, but I've already seen you in the capable hands of that pretty Doctor Ral." Hannes said, winking.  
  
"What? Petra is in Docto  
r Levi's squad?"  
Eren asked, surprised.  
"Yes, her and some other guys you'll meet sooner than later. They've been all hand-picked by him after he started working here. Erwin had decided to concede him a whole section of special preparations," Hannes explained as they arrived at the top.  
The magazine was as big as the whole ground floor, with boxes piled everywhere, from the floor to the ceiling.  
  
"I guess sometimes you'll be on the magazine duty with one of us, but for now I'm gonna show you how we make appear the drugs from the tubes in the ceiling," Hannes said with a big smile.

-

Eren came back home five hours later, more tired that he would've thought.  
He just wanted to sleep and numb the reality, but he would not let that bastard win. He would give him the best, goddamned chemical method known to humankind. He would not lose a year of his life because of a task that was difficult. He was not one to give up easily. He never gave up, even in front of a lost cause. He would make him see.

He didn't come out of his room when Mikasa called him for dinner.  
He researched, wrote, scratched and wrote again, and if at some point of the evening he took a black notebook out of the drawer of his desk, there was no one to judge him for it.


	5. Chapter 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Hard work sometimes pays off.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A longer one this time, still not beta-read, so all the errors are mine. Don't mind pointing them out; that way, I can edit all the mistakes.  
> Sorry if you're tired of Eren interacting with people that are not Levi, but there are some important relationships that have to be established or taken care of, since I'm trying to follow the manga as best as I can (well, except for the fact that it's an AU). There will be plenty of time for Eren and Levi. And I meant it when I added the 'Slow Built' tag.  
> Thank You for sticking with me.  
> Kudos and comments are well appreciated, if you feel like adding some.

Eren was dead. He was dead, so why could he still feel his raging headache combined with general misery? Couldn't a dead man Rest In Peace, like, peacefully?  
He groaned loudly at his phone alarm that went off five minutes ago, at 7:15 AM, and apparently wasn't going to stop. Maybe his telekinesis skills weren't as good as he'd thought. What had Eren's life become.  
  
He'd gone to sleep at 5 AM. He was going to pull an all-nighter, but when he'd realized he was writing the same sentence for the fourth time he'd given up.  
He was getting somewhere, though. Last night, after everybody had gone to sleep, Eren had moved to the computer and had logged into their university's databank that contained various digital libraries. He hadn't found any article pertinent to his synthesis, but he'd read several of them, all about discovering the right molecular pathways. He'd then settled for a possible isotopic marking; he just had to find a plausible molecular position to be marked and see if it would get him somewhere.  
Right now, Eren would just have to survive until tomorrow.  
  
He dragged himself out of the bed using a method he'd conceived as a child: first, you roll to the edge; then, you let your legs slide and rest on your knees, your upper body part still lying on the bed. Then you fully get up. You get extra 5 seconds with your head on the pillow.  
Sometimes Eren blew his own mind.  
He slowly went to the bathroom, stroking his eyes and letting the cold water flow. It usually took about seven minutes for the water in the sink tap to heat and Eren didn't have that much time, so face freeze it was.  
Once his face was washed and his teeth were clean, he directed himself towards the kitchenette. Marco was already there, cooking something deliciously scented for breakfast.  
He turned around and greeted Eren with a soft smile. Then he looked him in the eyes, silently asking if everything was okay. Eren did look terribly.  
Eren just sighed and whispered 'tomorrow' and, since Marco was a good friend, he didn't press further; instead, he put a plate with scrambled eggs right in front of Eren, sitting at the other end of the kitchen table with his portion.  
Eren inhaled deeply and mouthed an ' _I love you_ ' just before stuffing his mouth. Marco giggled. They ate in a companionable silence and then, since Marco had to leave to go somewhere, Eren washed the dishes.  
As it turned out, somebody (in all likelihood Mikasa) had ironed his laboratory coat that was now hanging beside the entrance door. Eren took all of his stuff, snatched a new bottle of water from the fridge and went out. The mornings were getting colder.

-

Eren entered the Titan and went straight to the vending section. Until tomorrow, when his fate would be decided, there was nothing he could do in the laboratory without disturbing somebody. And then, he wasn't particularly inclined to be disrespected by Doctor Levi at this early hour of the morning. It was a miracle he didn't snap yesterday, but Eren wasn't sure how he'd react today, after 2 hours of sleep.  
  
Hannes was already there, waiting for Eren by his computer.  
  
"Mornin', boy! I see you didn't get much rest tonight. Ah, those university nights!" He exclaimed with nostalgia, looking meaningfully at Eren and ruffling his hair.  
  
"I wish," Eren responded, beaten, and patted his hair back down.  
  
"Don't worry, you might not be in constant women's demand right now, but once they all hear you're writing your thesis they'll be all over you. Seniors are always wanted," Hannes said encouragingly, winking.  
Eren didn't have any strength nor will to explain that he did not have women problems, thank you very much, but it wasn't his fault every potential partner had to be firstly approved by Mikasa. That girl had high standards.  
  
"So, we're back to the magazine again?" Eren asked, wanting to change the subject.  
  
"Yes, I still gotta show you our drug arrangement and then I'm gonna make you assist me downstairs," Hannes said cheerfully. Honestly, how could people be so lively in the mornings still escaped Eren.  
  
They climbed the circular stairs again, coming back to the place where the tubes were installed. Two doctors were already there. Yesterday Hannes had explained that when the medical prescriptions were scanned downstairs, the drug's active principle, dosage, pharmaceutical form and other informations appeared on small monitors upstairs. Every monitor was put in correspondence of each tube that rose for about a meter in height from the magazine floor.  
The doctors glanced at the monitors, retrieved the proper drug from the drawers put behind the circle, positioned the package in a small metal basket placed at the top of each tube and then let it go down hung on a transparent wire connected to the basket. It was almost like a small elevator, Eren thought.

Hannes directed him towards a pile of various drug packages near to the drawers.  
  
"Okay boy, we gotta refill the drawers with the drugs we've ordered yesterday. Every day, we place two orders: one in the morning, so the drugs arrive in the afternoon, and one at the end of the workday, so we receive the drugs the next morning. This way, we can easily refill the drugs that we sell most, without worrying that they will be sold out; we also assure a quick delivery for clients who have to buy drugs we don't have stocked in that moment," Hannes explained. Eren was trying really hard to concentrate.  
"We put the drugs in the drawers according to an established order. First, we stoke them by their pharmaceutical form. Every drawer is appropriately labeled, so you should get used to the system quickly. Once you've found the right form, the boxes are arranger alphabetically in two rows; the first row, the one closer to you, goes from left to right. The second one goes from right to left. We usually have three of four boxes of each drug in the drawers, the rest is stoked on the shelfs beside them. You following, boy? 'Cause I ain't gonna repeat myself" Hannes asked as Eren poorly attempted to hide his yawn.  
  
Eren immediately straightened his back and looked at the older doctor sheepishly.  
"Yeah, I'm really sorry, Doctor Hannes-",  
  
"Hannes, you're making me feel old".  
  
"Ehm, Hannes. I just stayed awake the whole night because of that 5 feet tall Satan," Eren said, and seeing the inquiring look Hannes was giving him, he corrected himself,  "ehm, I mean Doctor Levi". He assumed an innocent expression as Hannes barked out a laugh.  
  
"Okay, Eren, let's finish quickly and then we can go back down and pretend we're working. What do you think?" Hannes asked him, smiling.  
Eren was liking the man more and more, as he responded with a smile.  
  
"I was sayin', you organize the drugs alphabetically. The last rule you gotta remember is to always check the expiration date. You put the drugs that expire first before the others, so they're the firsts we grab when the request comes. All clear?".  
  
"Crystal," Eren nodded.  
  
They spent a good couple of hours positioning the boxes, since Hannes was catching Eren repeatedly mistaking the position or forgetting about the expiration date.  
After the fourteenth wrong attempt Eren threw his arms in the air and exclaimed:  
"God, they all have almost the same names! There's only a letter or two changing here and there! A little imagination wouldn't hurt!" he said, sitting on the floor and trying to get his hair out of his eyes. He was fucking tired and he did not sign to work in a magazine.  
  
"C'mon, big girl, there are only eighteen left and then you can go and fix your makeup or whatever," Hannes said as a box hit Eren's head.  
  
"I could sue you for physical harassment," Eren responded angrily, taking the drug from the ground and putting it in the appropriate drawer.  
  
"Like you could afford a lawyer," Hannes laughed, putting the remaining boxes in their places at five times Eren's speed. Show off.  
  
"Lets go, I've got a poker game in an hour and I'm not gonna miss it 'cause of your slow ass," he said, giving the two other doctors two thumbs up and retiring to the stairs.  
  
"A poker game? During work hours? Does your boss know about it?" Eren inquired suspiciously.  
  
"What I do during my lunch break isn't anyone's business, boy," Hannes responded, winking.  
  
Once they got down, Eren noted that the Pharmacy was filled almost completely.  
  
"Guess I gotta work for real, damn it," Hannes said, closing his eyes and emitting a deep sight. Eren chuckled. He'd always thought pharmacists were snob assholes, but he thought he might change his mind.  
Hannes could've appeared as an easy going, lazy old man, but Eren soon noted that he was very good at his job. He served the clients with speed and precision, still finding a moment to throw a joke here and there. Since the crowd was big, there was not much time to explain things to Eren, so he was instructed to stay behind the dispensing doctors, observe and try to draw conclusions. Tomorrow morning Hannes or someone else would explain him the dynamics better.  
Eren let his green eyes slide over every detail for the next hour, tiredness finally fading away. He received a few curious glances from the clients, but once they noted his badge with a big, black ' **trainee** ' written on top of it, understanding crept in their eyes.

Just as unwanted thoughts about his imminent, miserable future started to invade Eren's mind, a small figure came from behind the lab doors.  
  
"Eren, there you go! Look at you, looking all professional and stuff," Petra said with excitement, coming to greet him. Eren only rolled his eyes and smiled back.  
"Come on, it's tea time in the lab! How's the assignment going, anyways?" She asked as she directed him back to the lab corridor.  
  
"Considering that unknown mechanisms usually remain, you know, unknown, everything's fine," he said, trying to sound cheerful.  
  
"I'm sure you're gonna invent something," Petra said and lowered her voice, getting closer to Eren.  
"At my job interview, Doctor Levi made me prepare 10 syrups in 45 minutes without any graded cylinder and told me that if the uniformity of weight was not included between plus and minus 0.5 percent, he'd make sure I would never work in any pharmaceutical laboratory" she murmured, her eyes wide.  
  
"That's manic," he only said, shaking his head.  
  
Petra chuckled as she waited for Eren to change his shoes. Then she opened the laboratory door and they both put on the gloves. Eren bowed his head politely at everybody, even if he didn't know anyone personally. There was the tall, dark-haired man he'd seen yesterday getting shouted at by Doctor Levi. He was standing next to a fume hood with another man, whose hair were blonde, curly and parted almost in the middle. It seemed like he'd put a lot of effort to style them like that. Passing by, he caught a part of the man's monologue.  
  
"You know, Gunther, I've got the highest rate of successfully performed distillations..."  
The dark haired man seemed deeply bored.  
Petra pointed at them.  
"Theese are doctors Bozado and Shultz. Doctor Shultz is okay, but Bozado only talks about himself. Keep that in mind if you'll ever want to engage him in a dialogue," she said as the blond man turned towards them.  
  
"I can hear you, Ral, and I tell you that at your age I've already done thousands of precipitations! And why am I not seeing my tea?".  
  
"If you're trying to imitate the Captain again, please stop, it's not a pleasant sight," she said, rolling her eyes. "And you can get your own damn tea, Oluo," she added, skipping past the two doctors and not bothering to hear the answer.  
Eren smiled apologetically at the outraged doctor Bozado and hurried after Petra, because the man was looking like he was about to start another self-praising soliloquy.  
Petra passed through the emergency exit doors next to the cleanrooms and turned right.  
There was a small room with a kitchenette, a fridge, a couple of electric water kettles and a round table with some chairs arranged around it. A man with a goatee and long, blonde hair tied neatly above his neck was pulling a Tupperware from the fridge, but besides him there was nobody around.  
  
"Hi, Eld" Petra greeted him.  
  
"Ral" the man acknowledged her. Then, with the Tupperware precariously balanced in one hand that held also the cutlery, a tea mug in the other, he made his way out, bowing his head as he passed near Eren and saying " _Jinn_ " shortly. Eren responded with a simple " _Eren_ " as Doctor Jinn left the room.  
  
"There's a table outside, at the back of the building. We go there when the weather's nice, so mostly in summer," Petra explained as she discharged her gloves in a bin. Eren quickly followed her.  
"So, pretty boy, how do you take your tea?".  
  
"Black, two sugars," he responded, glancing curiously around. Tea and coffee boxes were disposed on the kitchenette's countertop, some of them having bright stickers on the tops, probably indicating the owners.  
Since Petra was busy with tea making, Eren slowly opened the fridge. It contained a gallon of milk with a ' _don't drink directly from the bottle, you uncivilized swines_ ' on the side, some bananas, three of four sandwiches and some other Tupperware containers. One lid bore a neat, straight text: _'I have two chicken pieces and 3.927 rice grains. Fuck with me and I'll find you._ '.  
Eren had a feeling he knew whose it was and he didn't know whether to laugh or cry, so he emitted a strange, strangled noise and closed the fridge.  
Petra then prepared the tea for Doctor Shultz and Doctor Bozado, despite her earlier refuse.  
  
"It's tradition, you know?" She told him as they sipped their teas at the table.  
"Sometimes we get really busy, but there's always time for some tea".  
  
Eren nodded. It had always be like that, for him, Mikasa and Armin. When things got bad, one of them would just stand up and make some tea.  
Then, against his better judgment, he asked:  
  
"What about Doctor Levi? Doesn't he drink any tea or coffe?".  
  
"Tea, I guess, but I don't really know. Hange always prepares his tea".  
  
"Doctor Hange? Didn't Doctor Levi call them a freak with shitty googles?" Eren asked confused.  
Petra smiled.  
  
"They're the only ones he tolerates. It might be because they act like they're deaf to all of his insults and they don't seem to perceive his general hostility".  
  
Eren did not respond. He finished his tea in silence, pondering why a genius man like Levi apparently did not associate with anybody. His sixth sense suggested that maybe it was because of his character.

-

Eren opened the emergency exit doors to witness a peculiar scene. Everyone was scattered at the corners of the laboratory, with the exception of Doctor Hange and a small figure partially hidden by their body.  
"I told you not to touch me with your lurid hands, four eyes," Doctor Levi said menacingly.  
Doctor Hange really appeared invulnerable to his hash tone, as they whined.  
  
"But Levi, I've got my gloves on! They're clean, see?" they exclaimed and they put their hands an inch from Doctor Levi's disgusted face. He did not back away.  
  
"Leave me alone".  
"But Levi, I pretty pretty pleaaaase, it's my birthday today!".  
  
"No it's not, you filthy liar" he spat, rolling his eyes. That moment of deconcentration was immediately exploited by Doctor Hange. Their hand snapped forward with incredible speed, straight to Doctor Levi's hair, and ruffled it. Doctor Levi froze, while Doctor Hange was looking at his disheveled hair with a morbid smile.  
Eren was watching the exchange with an open mouth, but what he did not expect was a kick placed on Doctor Hange's shin followed by a yelp, as they were taken down to the ground.  
Doctor Levi locked both of their hands in one of his, proceeding to re-part his hair with the other.  
  
"I'll skin you alive," he said slowly, but Doctor Hange only laughed while they broke free from his lock.  
  
"This is the best day of my life!" they exclaimed, ducking to their left as a very sharp-looking pencil passed inches from their googled-eye. Just as Doctor Levi was grabbing a glass container from the nearby counter, Doctor Hange sprung past him and in the direction of Eren.  
Eren might've been quick, but his reflexes weren't at their best that morning. He only managed to curse loudly under his breath as Doctor Hange took his arm and hid behind him.  
Glancing slowly at Doctor Levi, he realized these were probably his last moments, so he did what he had always seen in the movies.  
  
"Please, I have children, don't hurt me!" he shouted just as said glass container passed a couple of inches from his face.  
Doctor Levi was clearly a psychopath. He silently started praying to Mikasa.  
  
"You idiot, you could've hurt my experiment!" Doctor Hange yelled, stepping from behind Eren and pointing their finger at Doctor Levi. Eren did not feel very reassured.  
  
"That's enough".  
Everybody turned towards Mike, who emerged from his cleanroom.  
"Don't you have work to do?" He asked, letting his glaze slide through the people in the room. Everybody quickly resumed their tasks.  
Doctor Hange seemed completely unfazed as they squeezed Eren's arm and tried to pat Levi on the shoulder, but decided against it after noticing his expression.  
Mike returned to the cleanroom and so did Doctor Levi. Nobody glanced in his direction, probably to avoid his ire. Before entering the cleanroom, he turned towards Eren.  
Eren looked at him challengingly, the adrenaline from his barely missed encounter with the glass high in his body.  
  
"Sweep the glass. If I see even a grain left, I'll make sure you won't graduate until you're thirty".  
Eren couldn't say he was expecting an actual apology, but that was enough for his thin patience. He thought he wouldn't be accepted as a trainee anyway, so he had nothing to loose.  
  
"They should've called you Humanity's Biggest Asshole," he spat, trying very hard to maintain Doctor Levi's gaze. He barely noticed the man's eyes widen, but after a heartbeat his face rearranged itself in an expressionless mask.  
Eren waited, knowing damn well he would regret his loss of temperament really soon, but Doctor Levi turned, put his hand on the cleanroom's doorknob and disappeared behind the door.

-

 

He got home later than the day before. Picking up all the glass took some damned time.  
As soon as he placed his foot inside the house, he got cornered by an angrily looking Mikasa.  
  
"I swear I did not eat your secretly stashed chocolate," was apparently not a good thing to say, since Mikasa's eyes narrowed and she glanced towards her shelf in the kitchenette.  
"Heh, because if it was me, I obviously wouldn't tell you, you know" Eren opted for a tactical retreat to his room, but Mikasa placed a firm hand on his chest.  
This was not looking good.  
  
"Eren, I can see something is not right," she said, looking at him with her piercing eyes. "If you're in trouble or if there's something bothering you, you know you can always come to me. I'll try to help you as best as I can" she added, not taking her eyes off of his.  
Eren really, really didn't want to speak about his crushed dreams and ruined ideal of future, but he knew Mikasa was irremovable. He sighed tiredly.  
  
"Mikasa, thank you for your concern, but I can manage this one on my own," he said, but Mikasa looked unconvinced.  
  
"I will talk to you tomorrow, okay? I have something to do right now. It has to be ready in, like, 18 hours, and I don't posses your intelligence or Armin's smartness," he tried to explain, but fortunately Mikasa's expression softened a bit.  
  
"Tomorrow" she said firmly, letting Eren go.

-

The rest of the afternoon and the evening passed too quickly. At some point, Armin brought him the dinner, not bothering to ask what was wrong. A quick glance around Eren's room, with paper sheets discharged everywhere and Eren on the floor, covering abruptly what seemed to be a black notebook, was enough for Armin.  
He looked at Eren with his huge, blue eyes, and smiled brightly.  
  
"I heard a new park was opened today in the Maria district. How about we go and do some exploring tomorrow?" he asked cheerfully and Eren looked at him, grateful.  
Sometimes he got tired of the attention his friends, particularly Mikasa, were directing towards him, as if he was a central figure of something. He was not able to grasp the reason behind it, but then a glance at his friends was enough to make him realize, every damn time, how lucky he was to have them. He wasn't important or unique, but as long as they were with him, he would achieve everything.

Eren got it around 3 AM, when the night was dark and big, almost barbarically shaped clouds covered the moon. Silence and white, galling light from a street lamp in front of his window were his only companions. He was sitting down on his bed, looking at the paper sheet in his hands. His lips curved in a small smile as he put his head down on the covers.

-

Eren wiped off his sweaty palms. He was standing in front of Doctor Levi's office, located on the first floor. There was no tag on the dark door. Eren knocked for the second time, not being sure anymore if this was the proper room.  
  
"I've heard you the first time. You should've taken my silence as a hint," a tired but clear voice came from behind the door. A second later it opened abruptly and Eren found himself looking straight at Doctor Levi. If the other man acknowledged his presence, he didn't show it. He just returned to his desk and started filling a document that laid in front of him.  
Eren couldn't  
stop himself from glancing around. The office was pristine. There wasn't a single object out of place. Various books were symmetrically arranged on the shelfs behind Doctor Levi's almost empty desk. No photos, no personal belongings, no nothing. That was how his idol's office looked.  
  
"What do you want".  
  
The other man's voice startled Eren.  
He let his gaze sweep around the spotless desk again. He wondered what this man came home to.  
  
"I've brought the results of my research about the Bamberger-Hughes-Ingold synthesis," Eren spoke, thinking about the colored couch-covers and conflicts about house cleaning duties.  
The man took out his hand, looking at Eren disinterested. Now that he was processing what little he knew about the older man, Eren wondered if those eyes ever looked differently. He spoke again, not really knowing why he was bothering. He felt a strange sentimentalism as he looked at all that void.  
"Sir, if the result satisfies your requirements, may I ask you a question?".  
  
Doctor Levi ignored him. It was not a problem. Eren had been ignored frequently.  
He took maybe ten minutes to fully go over the text, his face completely emotionless. Eren only felt tired. There was a limit to his nervousness in such situations. After some time under pressure it just passed and left its place to tiredness, as if Eren's organism wasn't able to sustain it any amore.  
The paper rustled as Doctor Levi put it away. Eren was trying not to look expectingly.  
  
"I cannot see how proper temperature and pressure conditions could be achieved to isolate the highly unstable intermediate you've pointed out," he said, looking at Eren blankly. The shadows under his eyes were prominent.  
Eren tried not to look disappointed, he tried not to let his shoulders slump down. He'd done everything he could in that brief spat of time and he knew his work was acceptable. As it seemed, thought, it just wasn't enough, just as many other things he'd done in his life.  
  
"I apologize for wasting your time then, sir," he said, turning towards the door, not ready to let the disappointment fill his every thought.  
  
"I did not say what you've written is right," a voice arose from behind him. Eren stilled. Apparently, humiliation was inevitable.  
"But I did not say it's utterly wrong either" he continued.  
  
Eren spun around and looked at Doctor Levi disbelievingly.  
The smaller man pinched the bridge of his nose. It looked like a habit.  
  
"Go and rearrange the glassware according to capacity. Flasks, then beakers and then cylinders. If you're not done by ten and if the precision isn't maximal, I'll make you fill capsules for the rest of the year," he said, turning his attention back to his documents.  
Eren just stood at the center of the room. He'd just been accepted by Levi. His chest felt tight.  
  
"Do I need to spell it for you or are you waiting for a fucking written invitation?" the man said, irritated. Apart from pinching the bridge of his nose, it seemed that Doctor Levi cursed when angered.  
  
"No, sir!" Eren exclaimed, trying to contain his excitement. He'd been accepted as a trainee by Levi and he'd done it all by himself. Even the man's terrible character wasn't going to take this awareness from Eren.  
Seeing as the man was now openly staring and him with exasperation and distaste, clearly not bearing his presence in his office, Eren went quickly to the door.  
Just as he was to push it open and leave, he glanced behind.  
  
"Sir, since you haven't openly denied my demand about a question...," he said slowly, not wanting to cross any lines now that his internship was finally starting.  
  
"I hope you realize I have no intentions to interact with you more than strictly imposed by Erwin," Doctor Levi stated.  
It wasn't a good thing for him that Eren was pigheaded, then.  
  
"How do you drink your tea?" Eren asked, facing the door again.  
After several seconds of silence, when he was already out of the room and closing the door behind him, a plain voice responded:  
  
"Black, two sugars".


	6. Chapter 6

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Eren will probably never place a bet again.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter has almost 8k words, but I couldn't stop myself. I'm starting to have a clear outline of the story but damn, it will be HARD to start building up Eren and Levi' acquaintance since Levi is, by nature, a particularly antisocial individual.  
> This chapter contains two chemical/pharmaceutical procedures. I've tried to outline them as briefly as I could, but there are just so many passages! Ugh.  
> I'm pasting the links to YouTube videos of these procedures, so you can get an idea about my rambling:  
> \- The titration procedure:  
> https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=8UiuE7Xx5l8 It's different to the one I've described, but the procedure is absolutely complementary.  
> \- The Pan Banace Scale used by Levi:  
> https://m.bidorbuy.co.za/item/74868997/Antique_1920s_Scientific_Micro_Balance_Scale_Griffin_Tatlock_Superb_Unrestored_Original_Oak_Case.html (Click at the image to zoom)  
> \- A very quick sachet preparation:  
> https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=bA30XbySziQ (The man in this video absolutely does not use a proper equipment, but it was the shortest video that I managed to find)
> 
> The chapter is not beta-read, so, as usually, all the errors are mine and they probably consist of improper verb conjugation.  
> With all this said, I hope You enjoy.  
> If you have any questions or the things that I've written are truly unclear, I will try to better everything.

Working for Doctor Levi turned out to be an extremely tedious experience. Firstly, Eren was not really working, since he was not being paid. Secondly, aligning pieces of glassware of different shapes, volumes and basal diameters with a ruler was beyond Eren's patience at best and useless at worst. Sooner or later somebody was going to use it and disrupt the order.  
  
Eren shuddered as a terrifying vision of himself doing this every morning appeared in his head.  
  
Doctor Levi still ignored him for the most part of the morning, communicating with everyone in a strange manner that consisted of grunts (he seemed very fond of ' _Tch_ ', that was always accompanied by a pinch on the bridge of his nose or by an angered shake of his head), impassive stares and sometimes a curse word.  
  
He appeared soundlessly behind Eren at 10 AM sharp, making him almost drop a cylinder and considerated what, in Eren's modest opinion, was a meticulous, good job.  
  
"Why do you have to be mentally limited".  
Eren looked at him with a mixture of confusion, disbelief and offense, but Doctor Levi was looking at some spot on the penultimate shelf.  
"It's not lined up. Either you're blind, and I know that you're not, or you don't know how to use a ruler, which means you're more asinine that I initially assessed," he said, shifting his eyes to look at Eren, whose anger and exasperation were beginning to rise, fed by the fact that he still wasn't able to maintain the other man's gaze.  
"And since my assessments are always correct...," (' _pompous bastard_ ', Eren thought viciously) "... I do not see a valid motivation for such negligence beside laziness".  
  
"But-" Eren didn't understand Doctor Levi's rude assumptions, because every piece was exactly where it had to be, god damn it.  
  
"Do not fucking speak without permission, kid," the smaller man spat with a dangerous edge to his voice.   
Eren shut his mouth, hating how easily the Doctor exercised power over him. He had never been commanded in such manner and it was utterly humiliating, but he had little maneuver possibility.  
Doctor Levi made a step forward and Eren noted that he somehow managed, unpleasantly, to impose his presence despite the height difference.  
"I will not tolerate anything less than total dedication, do you understand?" he asked, trapping Eren's eyes with his. They demanded complete attention and it was perturbing. Eren only managed to tilt his head forwards. He quickly concluded that it was pointless to oppose or to resist, since he would be undoubtedly the one to perish. He still had some sense of self-preservation.  
"Then align that damn glassware as I told you and do not make me repeat myself. I might have agreed to this worthless internship, but I will not agree to tutor a worthless trainee as well".  
  
His words cut deeply into Eren's poorly threaded self esteem. Eren wasn't able to confine the ache that almost immediately deepened the lines on his face; he blushed at his own transparency.  
  
He was rescued from an absolute humiliation by Doctor Hange who assaulted Doctor Levi with an unexpectedly serious expression on their face, bare except for the googles.  
They took his shoulder in a visibly painful grip, but Doctor Levi did not flinch. He just looked at them with total disinterest, non even deigning Eren with a dismissal.  
They spoke in a low, concise voice.  
  
"Must I have THE talk with you again, you short asshole?".  
Something not exactly close to fear, but resembling profound unsettlement, lit up the older man's black eyes. Eren's curiosity perched even with his anger still omnipresent.  
He soon gathered, not without disappointment, that Doctor Levi was not prone to respond.  
Doctor Hange, on the other hand, turned to Eren, not loosening their grip on the other man, their eyes lacking their habitual touch of insanity.  
  
"Eren, Doctor Levi is sorry that he treated you bad," they said with such conviction that Eren was almost keen to believe them, at least for a short moment, because then Doctor Levi spoke again.  
  
"No I'm not, and don't you dare to speak in my place, Hange," he said with so much silent rage in his eyes that Doctor Hange's hand on his shoulder wavered.  
"And you -" he said, switching his gaze briefly to Eren "- stop gaping and move".  
  
Eren gritted his teeth and spun around to face the shelf, while Doctor Hange let out a small sigh and let their arm slide away from Doctor Levi in surrender.  
Eren imagined to stab that short bastard in the eye with every piece of glass contained in the cabinet. That vision managed to partially sooth his rage.  
He thought, for a hundredth time, that it was truly a shame that Doctor Levi's brilliance was exponentially proportional to the ugliness of his character.

-

To Eren's relief, Doctor Levi didn't confront him anymore. He had finished his task, triple checking every shelf for even a millimeter of deviation, and he noted that he still had little more than one hour left in the laboratory. He looked around, assessing his surroundings.  
There was at least one doctor for each counter and everyone seemed busy with some kind of galenical preparation. Petra was nowhere in sight, but he thought he saw her exiting the lab with Doctor Mike. He didn't want to impose on her. She was by far the kindest person in here, but it was understandable that she had other priorities, more important than taking care of Eren. He didn't need to be taken care of nor he wanted to slow down somebody's work.  
Eren straightened his back, agreeing silently with his own course of thoughts (in might've been slightly disconcerting, but Eren, as per usual, wasn't going to dwell on such a trivial problematic), and decided to put himself into some use, since Doctor Levi was, fortunately, nowhere to be seen.  
  
He noted that Doctor Schultz was going in the direction of the hoods, two beakers and a flute in his hands.  
Eren had dropped enough glass and fragile things in his life because of his laziness and unwillingness to make two trips - ' _I will make it to the couch, Mikasa, don't worry_ ' and ' _I'll clean the the tea stain from the carpet, don't hurt me badly_ ' - so he was able to gather that something was going to slip from Doctor Schultz's hands, and it was going to slip soon.  
He moved instantly and caught the flask just as it started to make its way towards the hard, white floor. Unfortunately, some of the liquid it contained spilled. Eren extended the flask to the Doctor, whose lips were still parted in a silent exclamation.  
  
"I'm sorry, some of it spilled, so I guess you will have to prepare the solution agai,n" Eren said apologetically.  
Doctor Schultz quickly recovered from the shock and grabbed the flask by unfolding two fingers from their grasp on one of the beckers.  
  
"Thank you! That was a close one!" he said, smiling thankfully.  
  
"No problem, I've had quite some experience with situations like this," Eren responded, mirroring the man's smile.  
  
"I don't think we have been introduced. I'm Doctor Schultz, but you can call me Gunther. I'm in Doctor Levi's Special Preparations Squad. I'd shake your hand, but..." he said and glanced at his occupied hands.  
  
"Don't worry!" Eren assured him quickly, not wanting any more glass to fall.  
"I'm Eren Jaeger, I study at the Trost University and I'm fulfilling my internship here at the Titan," he said, formally.  
  
"Jaeger, you say?" Gunther murmured almost to himself, his eyes curious on Eren.  
Eren's face closed off immediately. He knew what was coming, and he hated it.  
After a moment the other man snapped from his thoughts. However, he remained silent. Eren tried not to let out a sigh of relief.  
"You must be the one who's going to be tutored by the Captain, then..." it was not actually a question, so Eren refrained from responding; he just looked at Gunther with what he hoped was polite interest.  
"Well, lets see what you can do, then," he said, curiosity clear in his voice. Eren was not sure if he liked the man or not.  
"Care to help me re-prepare this solution?" he asked, tilting slightly the flask.  
  
Eren evaluated carefully the situation. On one hand, he could make himself useful and put into practice the things he'd learnt in the previous years. On the other hand, Doctor Levi hated him and Gunther was one of his hand-picked subordinates, so Eren suspected that he could refer his capabilities and eventual errors to his boss. He really didn't want to be put on the glassware duty again.

Fuck it.

"Of course. You just have to tell me what to do," Eren responded and took the flask from Gunther; it permitted the other man to maneuver quicker and more safely back to the counter. After the two beckers were placed down, Gunther looked at Eren.  
  
"The solution was prepared by adding a slight excess of chromate potassium 0,1 N to a solution of potassium iodide supposedly 0,1 N. I was going to titrate this 50 milliliter sample to determine the exact concentration of the iodide solution that I prepared in larger quantity this morning and that is currently stocked in a sealed bottle".  
Eren nodded his head. It was not difficult to visually identify a potassium iodide solution, due to its bright, yellow color.  
  
"I see that you've recognized it," Gunther said and Eren nodded again.  
"You said that I would have to prepare the solution again. Why? Why not simply add a volume equivalent to the spilled one, containing the correct proportions of both reagents?" he asked.  
Eren shifted his gaze from the flask to the man. Initially, he had imagined being questioned about his general knowledge during the internship (his suppositions had been cruelly crushed the day before yesterday), so the response came easily to him.  
  
"Because the volumes are not addictive," he said, and then added "even if we try to reproduce the exact proportions in a complementary volume, it's highly unlikely to re-obtain identical concentrations in the new sample, since the reagents' molecules might dispose differently this time. Their solvation might be different, thus the volume a singular particle occupies could vary and their concentration in every part of the solution could not be complementary to the concentration they had in the volume that was spilled. It's not correct to just assume that by adding the missing, let's say, 8 milliliters to the 42 milliliters left, the final volume will be exactly 50 milliliters," he explained as Gunther regarded him attentively. He was not sure if he exposed his point of view clearly enough, there were still many things to point out and to underline. Eren, however, did not continue, because one of Gunther's corners of the mouth turned upwards.  
The black-haired man kept his eyes on Eren for a few more seconds, his lips forming a full smile.  
  
"You'll do".  
Eren blinked, unsure how to react, even if he couldn't help but to be pleased about the correctness of his answer.  
  
"Let me prepare the solution quickly, and then you can show me how you titrate," Gunther said in an amicable tone of voice, but the way he phrased the sentence prevented Eren from refusing. He just shrugged. He was good at titration. Maybe not precise as Mikasa, but his performances were often guided by his instincts.

 

  
During the third year's laboratory every student had got their own titration set for the following months. The Professor, Toll if Eren remembered correctly, had made them use three different methods of titration on three different solutions, one per day.  
The results would've determined 30% of their final grade.  
Titration required, in general, a good eye and a steady hand. To precisely determine the concentration of a solution, one had to use another solution of known concentration (titrant), poured into a long burette, and let it flow, drop by drop, into the first one, put in a flask under the burette.  
The solution in the flask had to be continually agitated to permit an homogeneous distribution of the drops of the titrant solution.  
The titration was finished when the solution in the flask permanently changed its color, usually from transparent to a well defined one. It happened when the titrant reached its saturation threshold; in practice, the drop before the solution was transparent or its color quickly faded away and the drop after it was violet, blue, red etc. One had to arrest the flow of the drops in that precise moment by closing a small tap placed at the end of the burette.  
The change of the color was granted by the addition of an appropriate, inert indicator to the solution in the flask.  
Eren had failed the first two titrations, because it had seemed that his wrist movement had been somehow incorrect, even if he'd followed all the instructions step-by-step and even asked his colleagues how they did it. The tap of his burette just hadn't had any intentions to cooperate, shutting down the flow one time and pouring it at maximum speed the other.  
Eren had remained in the laboratory for hours the second day, determined more than ever to pass at least the third part of the test. He'd had to understand his burette's behavior and to make it WORK.  
On the third day, his titration had gone well, closely observed by Toll; there had been maybe only a drop added in excess.  
Eren had turned the tap in a complicated serie of wrist movements, practiced the day before. After not more than three seconds, though, the tap had stopped cooperating and other drops had flown down, much to Eren's horror.  
Toll just had announced that his burette was defective and that Eren had managed an almost successful titration even with a defective equipment.

 

It was understandable that the titration with Gunther went perfectly, since Eren used an equipment of great quality, surely very expensive. His university didn't even have the money to provide them with gloves, which they had to buy at their own expenses. It was a good thing that Eren, Jean, Marco and Mikasa wore the same size.  
Gunter just threw him another satisfied glance and excused himself, since he had to continue with his work under the hoods.  
Petra found Eren not long after and announced the break.  
Eren gladly took of his gloves, googles and mask as they entered the tea room.  
He noticed that this time it was quite crowded.  
  
"It's because Doctor Erwin will come back soon and he's set a meeting right after the break," Petra said with enthusiasm while she and Eren prepared their teas. Eren had bought two sandwiches on his way to the pharmacy and he congratulated himself on his perspicacity. He really was starving.  
Petra took a seat at the table, beside a young female doctor that Eren hadn't yet seen and motioned to the void seat at her right that Eren took quickly. The room was filled with pleasant chatter, but Eren was content to consume his lunch in silence as he discreetly glanced at the other occupants of the room.  
Doctor Gunther and Bozado were perched on the counter. Doctor Bozado was talking about something, undoubtedly referred to himself, and Doctor Gunther, as per usual, was only vaguely listening to him.  
Doctor Hange, seated right in front of Eren, was talking animatedly to two men, probably their subordinates, but they winked at Eren when they adverted his gaze. He tilted his head in response and focused on his sandwich.  
  
He almost didn't notice when most doctors went silent and a ' _Good morning, Captain_ ' or a ' _Good morning, Doctor Levi_ ' rang from different parts of the room.  
He remained still in his seat, but Doctor Levi only acknowledged everyone with a nod and went straight to the fridge. He took out his lunch and quickly exited the room, pausing only to cast an intense look at a couple of dirty mugs on the counter. Eren noticed that there were still three unoccupied chairs, entirely ignored by Doctor Levi, while the young female doctor beside Petra quickly stood up and hurried to the sink to wash the mugs.  
  
"He's not very social, isn't he?" he asked Petra.  
  
"Don't you say," she said playfully. "I've seen him eat here only a couple of times in more than four years and only in the company of one of people from his squad or Hange. He can be quite talkative," she added.   
Eren absorbed the information, thinking vaguely where the man ate. He then shook his head, scolding himself for being curious even when he'd been shitty treated by the same man for three days straight. Besides, it wasn't his business what Doctor Levi did during his lunch break nor did he care. At least that was what he told himself.  
  
"This weekend some of us are going out. Do you wanna come?" Petra said unexpectedly.  
Eren wanted to refuse because he probably didn't know the most part of 'some of us', but a glance at Petra's hopeful expression forbid the 'No, thank you' to come out of his mouth.  
  
"Ehm...," he said, but Petra leaned forward, her big eyes fixed on Eren's.  
"W-well, I guess that would be, ehm, great...," he concluded, cursing himself and Petra, whose expression immediately became smug. She was a dangerous, dangerous woman.

"It will be, pretty boy," she winked. "I'll give you the details tomorrow" she added, and brought her things to the sink. After a moment of consideration, she said  
"Just don't accept any drinks or food that come from Hange's hands".  
  
Eren was slightly preoccupied about his safety, but he'd already agreed.  
He sighed, washed his mug and headed to the vending section.

-

After four hours of fighting the crowd beside Hannes Eren was fairly sure that Satan possessed people's souls once they crossed the entrance of the Titan.  
He'd just spent forty five minutes trying to convince an elderly customer that the drug the woman's doctor had prescribed was indeed the same she'd taken for thirty years and that the box looked different because the manufacturer had changed it. It was superfluous to say that he'd failed when the woman finally asked him to 'speak to his manager because I don't trust a fifteen years old boy'.  
Pixis didn't seem to mind. He got up from his desk, entrusted Eren his flask with a smile ('No, thank you Doctor Pixis, maybe next time') and dealt with the lady. At the end, she came out charmed by Doctor Pixis' barely appropriate compliments and with the drug.

Eren left the Pharmacy at 5:15 PM and hurried to the bus stop, sending an SMS to Armin in the meantime. His friend had left a yellow sticker on the fridge, communicating him that they were to meet at a little ice cream shop in the Maria district and head to the park together. It was a pleasant afternoon, but Eren knew he had to hurry if they wanted to spend some time in the park still illuminated by the sunshine. The evenings were cold.

Fortunately, the bus passed just a few minutes later. It was a rare occurrence; Eren couldn't complain. He even managed to get a seating place next to the window.

It was not difficult to spot Armin on the busy sidewalk. His friend was rather small, but his bright, golden hair were easy recognizable.  
  
"Armin!" Eren shouted, putting one hand in the air just to make himself more visible.  
Armin' blue eyes followed his voice and a big smile spread across his face as he hurried towards Eren.  
  
"Tired?" he asked sympathetically after a brief glance. Eren supposed that four hours of sleep and more than eight hours of mental and physical abuse might've put a little strain on him today.  
  
"Not more than I've ever been before" he said with a smile, content to finally get some fresh air.  
  
"Yeah, we've done a lot worse when we've bought 'Heroes' and spent sixteen hours on the computer" Armin responded, sighing happily at the memory.

Eren had known Armin since they were both five, six maybe. They had been 'adventure friends', wandering around their households and into the nearby parks until late hours of the evening and sharing the scoldings that awaited for them at their homes for not telling where they'd been or why they'd come back so bruised.  
Eren had never mentioned all those times older children had beaten him up for defending Armin.  
Armin had lived with his grandfather until they'd transferred to Sina. Eren knew that his parents had been travelers, visiting the most remote countries and villages and describing their experiences in large notebooks that Armin treasured more than anything.  
They had died in Chile's mountains because of an equipment malfunction. Their bodies had been found weeks later by a small group of native inhabitants, since nobody else ventured that far away from the civilization.  
Eren suspected that there was more to the story, but he hadn't dared to ask Armin about it. It was his friend's story to tell and if he didn't want to, Eren was content just to support him and be by his side. He knew personal boundaries. There was a phrase that his mother had used to say every time he'd voiced wrong or unkind opinions about other people as a child, or when he'd wanted to impose himself on somebody.  
' _Your freedom stops where the other person's freedom begins_ '.  
It'd been his personal motto for many years, now, but it was incredible that it was applicable to almost every situation.

Eren snapped from his nostalgia when Armin bounced in the direction of the ice cream shop, voicing loudly his need of unhealthy carbohydrates.  
  
"You might actually grow a bit if you eat ice cream more often," Eren teased his friend who let out an indignant huff.  
  
"And here I thought I would let you bask in my mercy by buying you one," he shouted, already entering the shop.  
  
"You little shit, I'm the one who ends up paying every time 'couse you just leave!" Eren shouted back and winced when a lady with a child glared at him for using the curse word.  
He hurried after Armin.

 

Once the ice creams had been purchased, courtesy of Eren Jeager because Armin was a little beggar, they headed to the park that was surprisingly close. It was supposed to be the biggest park in Sina, adapted to children with its multiple playgrounds and to adults because of its various walking and running tracks. None of these traits were interesting enough for Eren and Armin. Once they entered the park, busy with people, they glanced at each other.  
  
"Left or right?" Eren asked as a familiar thrill settled in his muscles with anticipation.  
  
"Left," was the only thing that Armin said before they ducked between high pine trees that surrounded the entrance alley.  
It was time to discover the less trafficked parts of the park.

-

"Here, Armin, fucking move!" Eren whisperer with urgency, lifting a heavily dangling branch.  
  
His friend quickly ducked under his arm and crouched, while Eren let the branch back down, placing it in front of them. Armin was giggling furiously, trying to get a small pine out of his hair, but Eren heard a distinct rustle of leaves and slapped one of his hands on Armin's mouth. He had to put the other hand on his lips as well, since his friend's giggle was contagious. They barely avoided getting caught by the guards, because they didn't think twice before trespassing a closed off area of the little forest that surrounded the park. They might've or might've not ignored the big ass ' _Do not trespass_ ' sign.  
They waited for a few more minutes in complete silence and once they were sure that the guards had missed them, they reemerged from behind the branch. Eren paused to take pity on Armin's pathetic attempts to free his hair. With the small pine untangled, they took a very mature decision and returned on the track, since the sun was almost gone behind the horizon. Its last, golden rays, slipped through the branches, giving a marvelous depth to the green. Eren loved it.

The ride home was peaceful. Eren would've took more delight in it if he had known that Mikasa was waiting for him at the kitchen table, doing a sudoku, which was never a good sign.  
He tried to adjust his hair, hoping there weren't any leafs left, while Armin took off his coat and looked at Eren apologetically.  
Armin had never pressed or demanded explanations when something bad happened to Eren, choosing instead to wait until Eren was ready to share.  
Mikasa, however, assumed an exactly opposite behavior.  
Eren sighed and rubbed his face in resignation. He had almost forgotten about his unfortunate internship and about his earlier promise to explain everything.  
Well, at least there was tea ready on the table.  
Not having any other choice, Eren sat down, met Mikasa's calm eyes and turned to Armin, motioning him to come over.  
Taking a sip of tea, he started explaining.

Shock reigned on both Mikasa's and Armin's faces while Eren admitted that he had not only met Doctor Levi, THAT Doctor Levi, but the man had been assigned to tutor him for the whole year and he was, simply, cruel.  
  
"I'm going to hurt this bastard," was the only thing Mikasa said once Eren briefly described their few interactions. She stood up slowly, a steely edge to her gaze, and put her hand on Eren's shoulder in a silent promise. Eren was about to protest, because he was able to fight his own battles (more or less), but Mikasa retreated to her room, not bothering to look behind.  
Armin, on the other hand, glanced at Eren sympathetically.  
  
"Eren, if you want me to, I can see if there is a proced  
ure that allows a student to change the internship pharmacy. I'm sure that there are some exceptional criterias and I know that they will list verbal abuse amongst the others".  
Eren took Armin's proposition into consideration, but after a few moments he shook his head with defeat.  
  
"Thanks, Armin, but the pros of being Doctor Levi's trainee in a Pharmacy like the Titan are much more than the cons... Or the con, since only Doctor Levi can be classified as one. Well, except for the part where he's a genius," he said, trying to put on a reassuring smile.

-

Erwin passed a hand through his hair. He was tired. The meeting that he'd set up in the early afternoon went on for four hours, since the congress he and Levi had been to had brought into view much more disputable points that he'd anticipated.  
He groaned as he thought about all the new standardizations that had been approved and that his Pharmacy had to adapt to in a brief spat of time. He thanked, not for the first time, for his smart subordinates.  
Then, in the next few days he had to escogitate a strategy to successfully convince the owners of a small, nearby pharmaceutical industry that selling it or associating it with the Titan would bring profit to both parts.  
  
His thoughts were, unfortunately, disrupted by an unpleasant sensation of being intensively watched.  
He groaned again and tried to cover his face with an envelope which was instantly snatched from his hands.  
He closed his eyes and prayed for Levi to disappear.  
  
"You thought I wouldn't hunt you down?" Levi said with venom.  
Erwin had known that the moment he'd dismissed Levi from the congress, forcing him to accept a trainee (that he'd completely forgotten of) with a fair amount of blackmail and void promises, hell would've awaited him at the pharmacy.  
  
"Care to explain what part of the ' _Fuck no I don't want a fucking trainee_ ' has not been clear to you?" Levi asked angrily.  
It was a good thing Erwin had always been immune to his friend's rage.  
  
"Mh, have you said that? I recall something more like ' _Yes Erwin, your genius is astonishing, I would do anything for you'_ ," Erwin said with a shit-eating grin, shielding his head from a hit with the envelope.  
Levi hit him on the chin instead.  
Erwin stood up, since he was at disadvantage in the seating position, extracted the envelope from Levi's murderous grip and repeated the same words for a hundredth time in exasperation.  
  
"Levi, you know that we're the only pharmacy that has never accepted university's trainees and Trost has been at my throat for years! I actually think it might be -"  
"- A great opportunity to better the Titan's reputation. Blah, blah, blah, cut the bullshit. I want the child gone, I don't have time for it".  
Erwin sighed and rubbed his temples. Levi was a menace.  
  
"Too late, all the permissions have already been signed. It's done, irreversible, final, irremovable," he said, trying to use as many adjectives as he could.  
  
"Then do it yourself, for fuck's sake! Do you know how much work do I have to do? I'm not going to spend twenty four hours per day in this god forsaken place because YOU couldn't stand up for yourself and tell Trost to shove their internship up their asses!" Levi raised his voice, poking him in the solar plexus with his index finger.  
  
Levi had used more than two curse words in one statement. It was time for a strategical retreat.  
  
"I'm sorry, Levi, I think I can hear the phone ringing in my office, I better answer the call," Erwin removed Levi's finger from his chest and hurried to the door.  
  
"I will ruin you when you least expect it," Levi's voice regained its usual stoicism, which was not a good thing.  
Erwin closed the door of the meeting room behind him with a smug smile on his face.

-

Eren cursed silently as his morning alarm went off. It was becoming a sort of his morning routine: turn the alarm off, curse (or turn the alarm off while cursing), slide down from the bed, go and make yourself presentable.  
He quietly ate his breakfast in the company of Sasha, who was putting milk into a bowl of cereal with one hand and devouring a slice of bread with another. Connie sat beside her with void in his eyes. He was definitely not a morning person either and it took him some time to make peace with the fact that he had to face another day.  
The only positive thought was that it was already Friday and he had to spent only four hours in the pharmacy to complete his thirty-six hours slavery. He wondered if he'd manage to hide in the magazine, but he knew luck was usually not on his side.  
He finished his breakfast, retrieved his bag from his room, took off his lab coat from the hanger and went out.  
Cold, morning air hit his face with bluntness. Maybe it was time to start wearing a scarf.  
Eren stopped by a small grocery store that made sandwiches and bought himself one. His shift finished at midday, but he'd probably get hungry in the meantime and he wanted to wait for Mikasa and eat the lunch together, since she had to be at the hospital until 2 PM.  
The bus was nowhere in sight, so Eren prepared himself mentally for the walk.

He got at the Titan good fifteen minutes in advance, but he was spared from the chilly air by Hannes who noticed him while he passed near the entrance.  
  
"Ready for the weekend?!" he exclaimed cheerfully and Eren winced at the volume of his voice. He ignored Hannes question, because to respond would mean that Eren had first to acknowledge his social life, or the lack of thereof.  
  
"Do you know if I'm with you today?" he asked, hopeful.  
  
"You bet! Wouldn't want you to stay eight hours in the lab, boy" Hannes responded, elbowing him in the ribs.  
  
"I'm only supposed to be here for four hours on Friday," Eren specified, massaging his side.  
  
"Ah. Well, in that case I guess you oughta ask your Tutor, boy," the blond man said, glancing at a big clock hung on the wall behind the Garrison. It was almost time to open.  
Eren resigned himself to his fate.  
  
"Is he already in his office?" he asked, not really joyous about the prospect of lurking near Doctor Levi's office, waiting for the man.  
Hannes laughed.  
  
"You mean, is he STILL there".  
Eren frowned in confusion.  
"I'm sure you'll find him in his room, boy. Now shoo from here, I gotta open in a few".  
  
There was nothing left for Eren to do to kill some time (let's say, four hours worth of time) so he directed himself to the first floor.

 

This time he only knocked once. A curse word greeted him from behind the closed door. Well, Eren wasn't happy to meet Doctor Levi either. He gently pushed the door and stepped inside.  
The room was exactly how he'd remembered it from the day before, with a small exception of a literal pile of documents stocked neatly on Doctor Levi's desk. The man seemed completely absorbed as he rapidly scanned three pages at the same time and, as per usual, he didn't even acknowledge Eren's presence.  
Eren briefly pondered if he should clear his throat, but perhaps that would be too petty. He opted for brief, concise phrases instead.  
  
"Good morning, sir".   
No answer.  
Eren made a few steps forward. He waited a few seconds, but Doctor Levi didn't seem inclined to talk.  
  
"I'm sorry to interrupt your work...," Eren started uncertainty, gesturing to the documents. The other man closed his eyes with a sigh. When he reopened them, they were looking at Eren as impassively and impatiently as always.  
Eren was about to ask about his duties for the day, but his eyes widened a bit when he got a better look at the man behind the desk. The shadows under his eyes were much more prominent than usually. There was an unmistakable tiredness to the lines of the man's shoulders and his right hand twitched every few seconds, making the papers rustle. Eren was fairly sure he understood why Hannes had said " _still_ " instead of " _already_ ", but it was difficult to asses if Doctor Levi had spent the night at the pharmacy, since his white shirt was pressed to utter perfection and there were no signs of negligence in his physical aspect.  
  
The small debate lasted for not more than a second in Eren's mind, but he had no doubt that Doctor Levi noticed his gaze as he straightened himself in his chair and instantly hid the tiredness on his face behind a blank, albeit irritated expression.  
  
Eren was suddenly hit with the realization that the man really meant it when he said that he didn't have the time to waste for Eren. He really wasn't worth it.  
Eren wanted to leave the room, but he couldn't just get out. He built up some courage.  
  
"The layout of my internship foretells thirty six hours per week...," he started, but Doctor Levi was getting visibly impatient. He had to speed things up.  
"I've got four hours today. Where do you want me to be, sir?" there. That was concise.  
  
Eren was hoping for a response, especially if it meant that Doctor Levi didn't want him in his laboratory, but the smaller man diverted his gaze from Eren and reached for the phone placed in the corner of his desk. He pressed a button and waited.  
  
" _You've reached Doctor Smith's voicemail. Please leave your message and your phone number after the.._.," the female voice was abruptly interrupted as Doctor Levi almost slammed the phone back in its place with a not so silent ' _Fuck_ '.  
He glanced briefly at the documents, muttered something else under his breath, and looked at Eren again. His gaze really was unsettling.  
  
"Go and prepare one hundred and fifty sachets with vegetal carbon, 2.35 grams per each. I want less than 1 percent of weight dishomogenity," Doctor Levi said and Eren sighed quietly. It was not a difficult task, just plainly boring.  
He wondered if he'd been dismissed, but the other man's gaze suddenly sharpened.  
"You're not to use an analytical weight scale".  
  
The infinitesimal amount of sympathy that Eren had felt for the man once he'd understood that he didn't get any sleep for god knows how many hours disappeared immediately.  
  
"Sir, with all due respect, I cannot fulfill your request without any sort of weighting system," he said, incredulous.  
That was, apparently, not the right thing to say.  
  
"Then use the brass balance scale".  
  
Eren thought he'd misheard. Nobody used balance scales since, like, the nineteenth century. It would take him hours to weight one hundred and fifty samples.  
One last glance at Doctor Levi's face assured him that it was pointless to argue.  
He turned around, wanting only to get out as quickly as possible, but then he groaned. He didn't even care if the other man had heard him. 

"Does this Pharmacy own a balance scale? Or do you want me to go and acquire one in an antique store?" he said, not bothering that he sounded like a petulant teenager.  
Something hit him hard in the shoulder and he almost fell as Doctor Levi passed beside him and got to the door.  
  
"Spare me your weak sass, kid," he spat and went out.   
Eren wasn't sure what to do.  
"The fuck are you waiting for?" the smaller man said, already on the verge of the stairs.  
Eren got hit by a disturbing realization that he should be following the man.

Doctor Levi took him to a small, exceptionally neat room connected to the weighting room in the laboratory. Eren noted that he'd assessed his shoes for a long moment with a critical eye, but they were clean. Doctor Levi could go and shove it.  
The room contained three objectively beautiful balance scales, everyone equipped with a set of small weights that went from milligrams to just a few grams.  
Eren noticed that the room, ableist perfectly clean, did seem to be used.  
  
"These are my scales. Care to call me antique straight to my face, now?" Doctor Levi said, dangerously close to Eren.  
Eren made a harsh step backwards, assuming a defensive stance. Damn, there was not enough room to protect himself from an eventual physical attack.  
  
"Ehm, what I meant is that good, pharmaceutical balance scales are exceptionally rare, almost like pieces of art...," Eren started babbling, but it was obvious that Doctor Levi saw right through his bullshit. He shut up.  
  
"I want you done and gone from my room in four hours. If you even as much as BREATHE at my weights and cause variations in the oxidation state of the metal alloy, you will buy a new set," he said with a steely voice. Eren truly didn't need all that pressure, god damn it.  
"And good luck with that, since these three peaces are the only ones left," Doctor Levi added without mercy. Eren could've easily been on the verge of crying.  
  
"I bet it's impossible to complete the sachets in four hours AND to obtain a 1% weight dishomogenity at most!" he exclaimed in desperation, mostly to himself, as he threw another glance towards the old ass scales.  
  
"Are you distrusting my judgment by placing a bet? " Doctor Levi said quietly, anger clear in his eyes.  
Eren just met his gaze and tried to transmit him all his desperation. He was sure even Doctor Levi knew mercy and human skills' boundaries.  
  
"Gunther," the man said loudly, not diverting his eyes from Eren.  
A quiet thump came from the weighting room.  
  
"Yes, sir?" Gunther peeked through the door with a sheepish expression.  
  
"Since you seem to have nothing better to do than to lurk behind the door...," Doctor Levi said, glancing briefly behind his shoulder at Doctor Gunther who didn't event bother to feign embarrassment, "... you might as well go to my office, take the documents from my desk, and tell Erwin that the tutorship he shamelessly imposed on me prevents me from fulfilling my duties. Make sure that he understands that every page has to be filled and signed in-," Doctor Levi glanced briefly at a watch on his wrist, "-twenty four minutes. And bring me the vegetal carbon".  
  
As Gunther quickly retreated and came back almost immediately with a large, plastic jar, Doctor Levi turned his attention to Eren.  
Eren had a distinct feeling that something bad was about to happen  
.  
"If you think you're adult enough to gamble, you're big enough to face the consequences of your own decisions," the smaller man said slowly. Eren cursed himself and his inability to think before speaking.  
"If I manage to prepare fifty sachets in thirty minutes with a relative weight error of 0.1%, you will spend the following week positioning the wares in the homeopathy section," he said coldly with narrowed eyes, as if daring Eren to contradict him.  
Eren was impulsive, not suicidal.  
  
"And what if you won't?" he asked and then quickly added "Sir."  
  
"I will" Doctor Levi said with a tone that beard no discussion.  
Eren didn't doubt for a moment that he wouldn't.  
He tried to recall how many shelfs exactly did the homeopathy section have.  
  
"Now get out of my way," Doctor Levi said, shoving Eren not gently aside.  
He sat on a stool in front of one of the weighting scales, opened a drawer under the counter top and took out several thin, rectangular paper pieces that were used to assembly the sachets.  
Eren was in a devastating situation, but he couldn't help himself. He fixed every movement the other man made with wide, attentive eyes, curiosity evident on his face. He thought that even if he lost the bet, the opportunity to watch somebody like Doctor Levi work was a win nonetheless. He just had to try to contain his newly awoken, fanboy's behavior.

Doctor Levi arranger fifty pieces in five rows of ten, starting from the left, upper corner and placing every piece in a way that its edges covered partially the edges of the previous one.  
Eren recognized the method. He'd read about it in one of his university's books. Doctor Levi had been the one to improve it to its actual standards.  
He put two pieces of paper on each plate of the scale and proceeded to place the right combination of weights on the left plate of the scale, picking them up with a small pair of tweezers with astonishing proficiency. He opened the jar, took some of the black powder with a small, metal spatula and tapped his gloved finger on the handle to remove some of it from the tip.  
His arm was impossibly still as he deposited the powder on the right plate.

Eren could not believe his eyes. He'd NEVER seen anything like that.  
The long, metallic needle that oscillated around the central point (positioned exactly in the middle of two plates, indicating which one was heavier than the other), was motionless, its tip perfectly bisecting the middle line.  
Eren had little time to be astonished, because Doctor Levi carefully took the paper with the powder on top and placed it at the left, upper end of the five lines.  
Eren was shook, but he quickly assessed that Doctor Levi would have to repeat his unrepeatable performance forty-nine times if he wanted to finish the sachets in less than thirty minutes and properly close them.  
To his utter bewilder, Doctor Levi did not proceed to place the second piece of paper on the scale. He just took the powder from the jar and let it fall straight on the papers arranged in rows.

What Doctor Levi was doing was called, improperly, the 'eye-metric method'. In the sachets' case, it consisted of taking the first, properly weighed sample, as a reference. The powder, when poured on a flat surface, tended to form a conic structure (kind like a small volcano but without the hole at the top), which height and base diameter varied based on the powder's sliding capacity. One had to imitate at best the first 'cone', adding or taking away small quantities of powder as many times as needed. The more similar the cones, the bigger the probability the sample contained the same amount of powder.  
It was also extensively known that every cone had to be weighted and adjusted. Like, always.

Doctor Levi worked like a machine. Every movement was precise, it seemed that he was doing everything by the sheer muscle-memory.  
He was already at the seventh piece of paper and Eren didn't want to cast premature assumptions, but every damned cone looked exactly the same. And Doctor Levi didn't do more than ONE addition, and never a subtraction, of powder to uniform them.  
Eren took a seat, trying not to blink. He didn't want to miss anything, even if he knew that he would never be able to reach such level of perfection.  
Doctor Levi was done forming all fifty cones very soon. None of the powder had been wasted, although it happened very ofter that by an involuntary movement some of it fell on the countertop.  
Eren held his breath with anticipation. It was weighting time, to see if final adjustments had to be made before finishing the preparation.  
Doctor Levi simply proceeded to close the sachets instead.  
Eren couldn't believe it.  
  
"Sir, your speed is unattainable, but I'm sure you've said that your weight error would be less than 0.1%," Eren felt like pointing out.  
Doctor Levi slowly turned in his seat, not stopping with the closing, as he probably wanted Eren to see the patronizing look on his face in its fullness. Eren hid his awe as best as he could, because Doctor Levi was still a prat, and dropped his gaze.  
Doctor Levi aligned all the fifty sachets, put everything back in its place and stood up, taking the jar in one hand. He glanced at his watch.  
  
"It's been twenty two minutes. I hope you like ladders, because you'll be spending the next week on one," he said, disrupting the silence it the room.  
  
"IF they weight the same," Eren responded firmly.  
  
"Take them to the weighting room and use an analytical weight scale. When you'll realize that they indeed 'weight the same', finish the preparation and leave my damn room before noon," Doctor Levi said, some of the tiredness from before slipping into his voice, and just left.

The weight error was 0.08%.

-

Erwin retreated from behind the door of Levi's weighting room just as the other man turned around to face the young trainee who'd just said something.  
He smiled to himself, thinking that maybe the whole tutorship idea had not been that bad.  
Deep down, in fifteen years he'd never seen Levi engage in a bet about his abilities, even if there'd been plenty of propositions.  
He cast one last, curious glance at the brown-haired trainee and smiled.


	7. Chapter 7

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Threatened by shadows at night, and exposed in the light.  
> Shine on you crazy diamond.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm posting again and it seems that I'm not able to write short chapters anymore.  
> I'll be busy in the next days, so I don't know about the successive update.  
> There's some mildly described violence at the end, but it's absolutely not graphic. Only a few punches.  
> I'm warning anyways.
> 
> BUT  
> This chapter is all plot at no science! I've managed it!  
> There's some board game playing, so if you haven't played 'Risk' (this game has ruined more friendships that 'Uno') GO AND DO IT BECAUSE IT'S THE BEST, I SWEAR!  
> Here's the link to the American rules, which are different from the Italian ones, but I know only the latter:  
> https://www.google.it/amp/s/m.wikihow.com/Play-Risk%3famp=1  
> (God bless wikihow)
> 
>  
> 
> AND  
> I've had a literal enlightenment while listening to Pink Floyd a few days ago.  
> 'Shine On You Crazy Diamond' 's text HAS BEEN WRITTEN FOR LEVI, damn it! So please, please, go listen to it! You can press play when the crew enters the pub (you'll know) because it's just PERFECT. Eren doesn't know how well the text fits, obviously, because Levi's past will remain mysterious for some time, but WE DO.  
> And here's the link to the song:  
> https://youtu.be/cWGE9Gi0bB0  
> The sang part doesn't start until 8:40, but the build up is worth it.
> 
> I hope you'll enjoy this chapter as much as I've enjoyed writing it.
> 
> All the errors are mine.
> 
> Kudos and/or comments are truly welcomed.

Doctor Levi had clearly said ' _finish the preparation_ ', not ' _do the whole preparation by yourself and throw away the sachets that I've done_ ', and Eren took his command literally. Nobody would be able to blame him.  
And if the fact that Doctor Levi'd done so little error had facilitated Eren's work considerably, well, there was no one to blame him for it either.  
  
He'd had to retrieve the vegetal carbon from the reagents room AGAIN, since that prat had taken it away for god only knows what reason.  
  
Eren finished barely three minutes to midday. He put everything back in place with a precision only life threats were able to awaken in him and took his hundred and fifty sachets to the weighting room, casting one last, slightly paranoid gaze, at Doctor Levi's room.  
His back hurt and his head hurt, but the sachets were properly done and Eren sighed in relief when he finished weighting them and none was out of the confidence interval of more or less that 1% weight variation.  
There was only one, little problem. Eren didn't have the slightest idea what to do with them. And his stomach emitted a loud growl.  
He decided he could easily contrive something while he ate. His brain would even function better with some food ingested.  
  
He carefully put the sachets in a plastic bag he'd found in the weighting room and came out. The laboratory was busy as he walked through it to put his googles away.  
Doctor Gunther smirked and tilted his head in Eren's direction and he went to tell Doctor Bozado about the upcoming lunch break. Eren looked at him with slight consternation, since he hadn't yet decided what he thought about the man, and directed himself to the exit door. He finally took off the gloves, noting that his hands were sweaty (that's why he preferred gloves with talc).  
Eren passed a hand through his hair, grimacing because he remembered too late that it was sweat-covered. He'd have to cut his hair a bit soon, it was becoming unbearable. Or he might start to tie it up, but it was still to short for that.  
Hair should not be his problem, as a male.  
He felt a bit of sympathy for all the women.  
  
Eren turnt the corner and entered the tea room, only to stop abruptly on his tracks.  
He wasn't even able to eat his lunch in peace.  
  
Doctor Levi was seated at the table, his chin rested on his hand. He wasn't eating nor drinking. He looked even worse than in the morning and Eren thought that there had to be more to his malaise than just physical tiredness.  
Eren had looked like that when his parents had died.  
  
Before he could even thing of something to say, because what do you say to a secret idol/sadist who ignores you at best and contemns you at worst, Doctor Levi stood up soundlessly.  
He bypassed the table, not even hiding that he took the longer way around to maximize the distance between him and Eren, and went out as Eren scooted to his right to free the passage.

Doctor Levi wore a band of gold on his ring finger.

Eren noted it when a ' _Wait, sir, please,_ ' accidentally escaped his mouth and Doctor Levi stopped, placing his left hand on the doorframe and looking at Eren plainly.   
Eren couldn't shake off the inkling that the older man wasn't really seeing him, even if his eyes were firm on Eren's.  
  
"I-I just wanted to let you know that I've completed the preparation," he said, putting up the small plastic bag.  
"I wondered where should I place it".  
  
"You can put it in a trash can, for all I care. I don't need it," was all the man said before he turned on his heels and went away.  
Eren's shoulders slumped down.  
He slouched to the fridge, took out his sandwich and turned on the kettle.  
  
With his tea brewed, he sat down tiredly. A few seconds later he noted that he had taken the same spot as Doctor Levi, but he was feeling too numb to give it proper consideration.  
He chewed on his sandwich, glancing up only when Petra greeted him with a:  
  
"Hi, Eren! Tomorrow at 7PM in front of the Titan!", but she didn't stop. She was holding Mike's hand, who'd barely had the time to salute Eren, since Petra was evidently guiding him somewhere. She winked at Eren and they were gone.  
Eren didn't mind.  
He rarely had time to eat by himself, since there was always somebody in the kitchenette or in the living room back at home. He found that he didn't mind company either.  
  


There was a nagging sensation of guilt hidden deep down in his mind. Eren tried to ignore it, focusing on his meal instead, but he gave up soon. This type of guilt was too familiar to him.  
It was the same guilt he'd felt when he'd passed near a homeless man some years ago. It might had been march, because Eren remembered clearly that there'd been a lot of cold, skin cutting rain.  
He'd felt guilt because he'd been running under his umbrella, but the man had been drenched.  
He'd felt guilt because it had been the only umbrella he'd possessed and he could've not afforded another one, nor could've Mikasa.  
Lastly, he'd felt guilt because he had allowed himself to be UNCERTAIN about giving the man his umbrella, even if the man had not been asking.  
Disgusted by himself, by the fact that he'd had a warm place to come back to, while that man had nothing, Eren had given him his umbrella. He'd given him his scarf and his half-full thermos too.  
And when the man had looked at him questioningly, Eren had run home, hot tears pouring down on his face, mixing with the rain.

The man hadn't been asking, but that hadn't meant he hadn't _needed_.  
Doctor Levi wasn't asking either.

Eren groaned at his stupid, soft heart, and brewed another cup of tea before he could reconsider his decision. Black with two sugars.

-

Eren didn't have the slightest idea why he was doing what he was doing.  
His hands were both wrapped around a boiling hot tea mug that he'd covered with a little plate to keep it warm for a little bit longer.  
It was a blessing that he hadn't encountered anybody on his way to the first floor, but now he was pacing in front of Doctor Levi's office door, not able to muster the courage to knock.  
The more he thought about his gesture, the more ridiculous it seemed to him.   
Doctor Levi was a grown up man, by logic and a quick mathematical calculation _at least_ ten years older than Eren. Not to forget that Eren had always had a thing for exaggerating; surely Doctor Levi was not as tired as Eren had assessed.  
  
"He's never inside at this hour," a low, amused voice said into Eren's ear.  
He almost dropped the mug, but he was more preoccupied about an imminent heart attack.  
Excluding a forthcoming death, he turned around, only to find himself a few centimeters from Doctor Hange's face.  
They were looking at him with a slight smile. Eren waited five more seconds, his heart starting to calm down, but Doctor Hange didn't seem keen to make fun of him, so he spoke:  
  
"Are you sure, Doctor Zoë?".  
  
"I've been bringing him tea for four years," was the only thing they said back.  
Eren took it as an affirmation.  
"But I see that I'm not the only one anymore. Good job, soldier," they said, patting him on his head, even if they were of the same height.  
  
Eren realized he liked them, maybe because they seemed to be the only one to even marginally care about Doctor Levi's wellbeing. All the others were subdued and polite, but for what little Eren had seen, they weren't extending a helping hand.  
There was of course the fact that Doctor Levi did nothing to make himself likable, but Eren couldn't just stand aside and ignore.  
Just like Doctor Hange appeared, they were gone.

-

Hange smiled to themselves when they turned the corner, murmuring quietly:  
"I forgot to tell you that I never bring Levi tea to his office".  
They had never understood why Levi hadn't wanted them to. They'd made his library fall down only once.

-

Eren took a deep breath. He reminded himself that he'd faced many more dangerous situations.  
With that reassuring thought in mind, he carefully balanced the mug with the plate on top in his right hand and he lowered the doorknob with the other.  
Just like Doctor Zoë had said, the office was void. Or voider than usual, to be precise. Free of living beings.  
Eren felt very self-conscious because of the cleanliness, but he'd washed his hands repeatedly not more than ten minutes ago to eliminate all the dirt from the morning work.  
Making peace with the truth that he would never fit in such a spotless place, no matter what he did, he went to the desk.  
Which surface was empty.  
Scolding himself for overthinking, he took out from his lab coat's pocket about fifteen pieces of paper that he'd taken from the weighting room with the thought of training himself in the art of closing the sachets at home, and arranged them into a small pile in front of Doctor Levi's armchair.  
His mother had scolded him enough times about putting hot things on wooden surfaces.  
  
He added five more pieces, just to be sure.  
  
He placed the mug on top of the papers, checking if the plate covered its top completely, and quickly retreated from the room. He closed the door as silently as he was able to, which was not really, and hurried away at a quick pace.  
He allowed himself to walk normally only when he stepped into the changing corridor. He took his stuff out and changed his shoes, meticulously bending his coat. He put on his brown, embroidered jacket and exited the Pharmacy.  
Nobody saw him carefully picking out fifty perfectly prepared sachets from a small, plastic bag and throwing out the rest into a trash can in front of his apartment.

-

Eren came back home and was surprised to find Marco seated on one of the couches.  
He wasn't surprised by the seating part, since Marco and Mikasa were the only ones who didn't sprawl themselves indignantly because they were too polite to do it, but by the fact that Jean was nowhere in sight.  
Marco was humming pleasantly under his breath.  
  
"No internship today?" Eren asked conversationally, taking off his jacket and hanging it.  
Marco turned and smiled at him warmly.  
It was a shame Horseface had called dibs on him. Marco could obviously do a lot better, if he only knew Jean loved him madly.  
  
"There's too much work to do at the Pharmacy for both of us to have the same half-day off," he said, shrugging.  
He glanced at the clock and abruptly stood up.  
"Man, I forgot!" he exclaimed and hurried towards Eren and the hanger.  
Marco put on his jacket and his shoes with an apologetic expression, even if he had nothing to apologize about.  
  
"Going out already? Want me to come with you?" Eren asked, noticing from that close that Marco looked a bit worn out.  
Marco just shook his head, giving Eren a reassuring smile.  
  
"I have something to do, but I'm still a bit doubtful about the goal," he said enigmatically. Marco didn't do it on purpose, he just spoke that way, no matter if he was giving advices or wondering which type of milk to buy.  
Eren felt a surge of protectiveness. Marco was never doubtful. He was the pillar of their household.  
  
"I know I'm not good with words, but I want you to remember that you can always talk to me," he said, putting his hand on Marco's shoulder to empathize his words.  
"Whenever you are ready, just let me know and I will be there to listen".  
Marco regarded him openly, and then smiled again.  
  
"The same goes to you, Eren".  
Eren was taken aback.  
"I haven't forgotten about the way you looked a few mornings ago".  
Eren at least had the decency to look embarrassed.  
"I will be back before dinner" he said at last, exiting the apartment.

Eren glanced around. He didn't have any particular thing to do, even if he knew he should start studying sometime soon, since he still had a few exams left... But today was not going to be that day.  
Driven by an unexplainable desire, he went straight to his room, noted that it was in a quite pitiful state after his two days long research, and decided to clean it.

-

Mikasa found him with a white bandana covering the lower part of his face, trying to dust his carpet on the balcony and not to fall down while doing it.  
She looked visibly confused, as if she'd never seen Eren cleaning like that. Eren wanted to feel indignant, but unfortunately that was true.  
Eren passed her on his way back to the room, only to see Jean sticking his big face into it, an incredulous look on his face.  
He still had his shoes on.  
  
"Did you whipe your shoes clean on the doormat before you came in?!" Eren yelled, cornering Jean behind his back and making him yelp in surprise.  
The blond boy turned angrily.  
  
"What the fuck?! I can't even go where I want in my own, damn apartment?!" He spat in response.  
There was mud on his shoes.  
  
"Do you know how much did it take me to clean everything?! You're just bringing the mess inside! Get out of here, you wanker!".  
  
"Oh bugger off, you nagging housewife! You've cleaned for the first time in your entire life, fucking congratulations!" Jean yelled. Eren met his stare with a murderous one, cursing the fact that both of his hands were occupied with holding the damn carpet.  
Their stare-off would have continued and probably turned into something worse, but then Marco came back and looked at them with exasperated fondness that they didn't deserve.  
  
"Jean, you should be more respectful of somebody else's work," he said almost like he was educating a child, but that single phrase caused a miracle.  
Jean looked from Marco to Eren and to Marco again. With a pained expression, followed by an exaggerated sigh, he said:  
  
"I'm sorry, Eren".  
  
Eren didn't have time to feel smug, as Marco's gaze pinned his with expectation.  
  
"I'm sorry, Jean".  
They eyed each other with discontent.  
Jean backed off and went to the door to take off his shoes, while Eren hurried to his room and unrolled the carpet on the floor.

Eren locked himself in the bathroom, took off his bandana and striped off of his dusty clothes. He took a quick shower, not bothering to dry his hair. Mikasa would undoubtedly scold him for it as soon as he came out.  
He opened the door to an armful of Armin, who was visibly buzzing with excitement and wasn't able to wait for Eren to get out of the bathroom.  
"MOVIE NIGHT!" he exclaimed, putting the ' _The Lord of the Rings: Fellowship of the Ring_ ' casette high in the air.  
  
Eren shouted in agreement at the same moment as Jean. They went for the central couch, but Jean was nearer so he took the best seat. He glanced at Eren with superiority as Eren sat right beside him. One could argue that the seating places were exactly the same, but it was a lie.  
There was no motion from Sasha and Connie's room, but then Eren remembered that Friday was ' _Pay for 1 get 2_ ' night at the kebab place fifty meters from their apartment.  
Armin sat down in front of the television, trying to put into motion their old, uncooperative videocassette player. It was a good thing he had a hidden talent for mechanical engineering.  
Mikasa and Marco made popcorn, because they were proper adults, and after no more than fifteen minutes they brought three big bowls of greasy nourishment of Gods and beers to the small table.  
There was always popcorn and alcohol in a respectable, poor students' apartment.  
Marco took the spot beside Eren and Mikasa went to the couch on the right.

Eren and Jean could not be declared ' _friends_ ' by the canonical meaning of the word.  
They fought more often than they spoke, because when they were together their collective IQ unexplainably dropped really low, but Eren did consider Jean his friend.  
Had it not been for him, Eren would've not given half of the exams that he'd done. Every time he'd slouched on the couch or had played with Armin on the computer (Armin obviously hadn't had any problems with keeping up with the study), Jean would've passed by and motivated him to study by hitting him with a book on the head or by tripping over his chair.  
Everybody had their methods of spurring others.  
He'd made Eren unconsciously choose him as his rival because he'd understood that Eren had a competitive spirit. They'd passed all the exams together since then. Jean would've probably jumped from their faculty's roof instead of admitting his true intentions to Eren, but Eren had known better and he still appreciated it.

With that in mind, he stood up with the excuse of turning off the lights. Armin was done and was holding out the remote from Mikasa's couch, waiting.  
When the lights went off, Eren _absolutely_ _casually_ squished himself between Armin and Mikasa.  
Marco was absorbed by trying to find a position in which he would not spill his beer or drop the popcorn bowl, so Eren dared to glance briefly at Jean, who was looking straight at him.  
Eren smiled a little and subtly motioned at Marco with his head.  
The illumination was scarse, but Eren knew that Jean's face was red. Gratitude flicked briefly in his friend's eyes, but Eren dismissed it with a shrug. ' _That's what friends are for_ ', he tried to say.  
And then, just to reestablish the proper hierarchy, he murmured:  
  
"I'm Aragon anyways".  
  
Jean mouthed back:  
  
"You wish," as he shifted a bit towards Marco, trying to make it look like he was just gaining better access to the popcorn bowl.  
Eren huffed a small laugh, Mikasa's and Armin's arms around his shoulders, and Armin pressed ' _play_ '.

-

He woke up well rested, knowing he didn't have to fight for his dignity at least today and tomorrow.  
It was almost noon, but everybody in the house rested as long as they could during the weekends if there were no exams or other pressuring matters.  
He got out of bed, albeit unwillingly, and dragged himself to the kitchenette.  
There was breakfast in the making and Eren came behind Mikasa and rested his cheek on her shoulder in a silent ' _thank you_ '. Mikasa tilted her head a bit and a small smile curved her lips.  
She was smart, fearless, beautiful, kind and deadly at the same time. The man that she would choose would be the luckiest bastard on the planet.  
Eren added yet another challenge to his list of taking care of people, because he protected what was his with his life. That had always been his only, constant certainty.  
Mikasa had never had time nor interest in making a life for herself, blindly following Eren wherever he'd gone. Her self-imposed duty of watching him had saved Eren's life more times that he could remember and Eren still wasn't able to understand what he'd done to gain such loyalty from a girl like Mikasa.  
He had just given her a place to call home when they'd first met.  
Venturing to the kitchen table with two plates in his hands, he decided. He would find Mikasa somebody to love her.

-

Since they'd all eaten breakfast past noon, Marco and Mikasa decided that it was time to go grocery shopping for the next week.  
Eren secretly loved their common time together.  
With a bit of rustling and pushing in front of the hanger, they managed to get out after ten minutes.  
Marco and Mikasa led the way, as always.  
Connie and Sasha were right behind them, loudly arguing if a proper kebab should contain black olives or not.  
Jean was stroking his eyes and Eren elbowed him in the ribs, alluding to his busy night after such long proximity to Marco the day before.  
A few seconds later Armin helped Eren to get out from a big pile of leafs he'd been brutally shoved into.  
Silently promising vengeance, Eren took one shopping cart while Mikasa and Armin took other two.  
Sasha had been banned from pushing one when they'd discovered that she'd tried to smuggle thirty frozen pizzas when nobody had been looking.

The grocery shopping went on as always.  
After all the basic food had been stoked in the carts, Eren and Jean started arguing about the breakfast cereals, because corn flakes were just vile and how could Jean not see that Cheerios were much better.  
Nobody paid attention to them, since that discussion reemerged punctually every week.  
Mikasa and Marco were standing in front of the detergents' shelf, quietly evaluating various types of fabric softeners.  
Connie hung himself on Sasha's back, trying to pry her away from the snacks.  
Armin had some common sense and went to stoke his cart with beverages.

They'd payed for everything from their common funds and headed home.  
Mikasa was carrying more bags than the others, but Eren had stopped questioning himself about her strengt when they were ten.

Once they got home, they unpacked everything. Mikasa did the laundry, washing their lab coats; Marco and Jean sat down in the living room, talking about some tasks they had to fulfill in the pharmacy the following week. Eren and Armin were deciding which route to take for their orienteering training tomorrow and Sasha and Connie made hot chocolate, only slightly burning the pan.  
Eren was so absorbed that the next time he glanced at the clock, it was already 6 PM.  
He cast a furtive glance at Mikasa, who was seating quietly beside him and Armin, revising some of her notes.  
  
"What would you wear if you had to go out with much older and more experienced colleagues from your internship?" he asked.  
Mikasa let her eyes slide from the text to Eren, looking at him sternly.  
  
"Will your Tutor be there as well? I'm coming with you".  
Eren shook his head.  
  
"No need to bother. He'd probably rather drown himself than go out and actually interact with people," he responded with certainty.  
Mikasa regarded him attentively, looking for any signs of dishonesty on his face, but Eren held her gaze. He wasn't lying.  
She then smiled a little.  
  
"I'm happy you're making more friends," she said and returned to her notes.  
Eren was about to point out that he had plenty of friends.  
  
"I don't know, Eren. Where are they taking you?" Armin asked, looking thoughtfully.  
  
"I have no idea", Eren responded with exasperation. "I gotta be at the Titan at 7 PM, that's all I know".  
  
"Mh. I think that you shouldn't overdress, but still look smart enough since you'll be in an older company," his friend said.  
  
"You know you're not really helping, Armin," Eren grunted before retiring to his room.  
At last, he put on his green V-neck shirt and a pair of simple, brown trousers.  
He didn't even try to subdue his hair.  
He put on a hoodie as well, because he knew it was going to get cold and he didn't have a clue how late he'd come back.  
Putting so much effort into one's appearance was truly bothersome and tiring.  
He went for the door at half past six, because his bus was never there on time, and was stopped briefly by Mikasa. She didn't say anything, just put her red scarf around his neck.  
Eren put on his jacket, smiled at her saying he didn't know when he'd be back, and went out.

-

Eren got out of the bus at 6:50 PM. He quickly covered the remaining meters to the Pharmacy by feet, noting that Petra and Mike were already there.  
Petra scrutinized him with appreciation.  
  
"Don't you clean up well, pretty boy?" she said playfully and Eren glanced quickly at Mike, but the man didn't seem to mind. He just rolled his eyes at Petra with fondness.  
He then leaned forward and sniffed Eren. Apparently he liked what he'd smelled, because he smiled.  
Eren allowed himself to be perplexed, but he couldn't find a proper response to the man's gesture, so he just smiled back.  
Doctor Gunther arrived a few moments later, quickly followed by Doctor Bozado.  
Eren saw that they were all dressed very casually. He felt relieved.  
Then Doctor Hange came out from the Pharmacy, their lab coat slung over their bag and their googles still covering their eyes.  
They didn't take them off, but Eren didn't judge. He'd seen much weirder accessories and he found it difficult to imagine them without the googles anyway.  
  
"There we are!" Petra said cheerfully and started to walk enthusiastically.  
  
"Where are we going?" Eren asked, because he wanted to prepare himself psychologically for the evening.  
  
"To an AWESOME place right behind the corner!" Doctor Hange exclaimed from behind him. They apparently had an habit of startling people. Eren would get used to it someday... Maybe.  
"It's a pub, but it makes you feel like you're in the Middle Ages again!" they continued, eyes wide and hands gesticulating. Eren didn't want to know what that ' _again_ ' had been about. "It's all wooden and they even have an old electric chair," they said with a disturbing enthusiasm. Eren didn't look convinced, but Mike soon took over Doctor Hange's explanation.  
  
"Don't worry, Eren, it's just a pub," he said. "Well, it's a bit obscure because the owner is a fan of the thirteenth century," he added after a moment.  
  
"But they have booze and snacks and board games!" Petra intervened with a reassuring smile.  
  
"We actually go there because it's close and we're usually to lazy to go to a different place," Doctor Gunther said matter-of-factly. Petra murmured something about 'ruining all the fun'.  
"It's close to a nearby hospital too, that's why it's always crowded. There are just a lot of old, bored and tired people like us" he concluded, while Doctor Bozado shouted:  
  
"Speak for yourself, I'm not old! Have you seen all those muscles?!"  
  
Eren just shook his head. He had a presentiment that he would enjoy himself tonight.

-

They sat at the only table still available. His colleagues chattered amicably about some work-related stuff, but Eren didn't mind just to sit down and glance around. These people had known each other for a long time, so it was understandable that they had much more common ground between them than with Eren.

'Middle Ages' turned out to be a proper therm to describe the pub. Actual TORCHES lightened the room, casting deep shadows at the walls, but at the same time warming the environment with their heat and the color of their flames.  
  
Long, wooden tables occupied almost every inch of the stone floor, low benches placed at their sides.  
  
There were various tapestries and strange objects on the walls and Eren thought with wonder that he had no idea where the owner could've acquired such unique stuff.  
The fulcrum of the pub was, undoubtedly, the bar, that took almost a whole wall by itself and was not far away from where they sat. Eren spotted the probable owner behind it, and the first and only comparison that popped out in his mind was that of a big, old dwarf.  
  
High stools were lined up under an intricately carved countertop. On its both sides, there were brass and glass beer mugs, even some damn goblets, but Eren noted that it was equipped with every kind of glasses, probably to satisfy all the needs of a variegated clientele. And the clientele was indeed diversified.  
  
There were no young people, or at least not in their early twenties, Eren noted self consciously.  
Groups sat at the tables, but it was difficult to guess if they'd come in here together or if they'd just chosen the first random seating space, since few were talking.  
Eren only then realized that the silence was filled by a pleasant, low music that wasn't medieval at all. It was some sixties or seventies rock. Even better.  
A couple of solitary man in suits and a woman in a tracksuit sat at the bar with unreadable expressions and each swallowed a glass of some amber liquid in one go. Then a pager in the woman's pocket biped loudly and she left in hurry with a loud ' _Fuck_ '. Eren distinctly remembered that Gunther had said that this place was close to a hospital.

"Do you like it here?" Doctor Hange asked, suddenly gripping his forearm.  
  
Eren jumped a bit in his seat, but Doctor Zoë apparently was just like that. Unpredictable and with no consideration for personal boundaries. Eren liked them.  
  
"I love it," he murmured, finding that it didn't come out forced but it was actually true. Armin would love this place too.  
  
Doctor Hange smiled widely and leaned forwards, as if wanting to entrust him a secret. Eren leaned towards them in response.  
  
"I'll let you choose the game for tonight. And if you choose one that I like I will convince the old John to let you seat in the electric chair," they said, vibrating with anticipation.  
Eren was a bit terrified and he decided that he would choose the least weird and cruel board game that the pub owned. His survival instinct was kicking in.  
"All right, losers!" they shouted, but no one at the table seemed dazed by their sudden outburst.  
"Me and my trainee are going to pick up the game, so move your lazy asses and go get food and drinks!".  
  
Eren laughed a bit when he noticed that Petra looked relieved. He'd remembered not to accept edible things from Doctor Hange.  
  
As Mike and Doctor Bozado stood up, asking everybody else about their drinks, Doctor Zoë gripped Eren's shoulder and lead him to an old commode near the bar.  
It was filled with board games of various states of usage.  
Eren carefully regarded them, trying to choose the plainest one. After a moment of consideration, he picked up 'Risk', a game he used to play with his flatmates quite often.  
Doctor Hange let out a victorious ' _Yeah!_ ' and Eren groaned, but they seemed unfazed.  
On their way back to the table they leaned on the countertop and winked extensively at the dwarf-looking man. Or the 'old John'.  
He only regarded them with utter distrust.  
  
"Oh come on! I've fixed your chair after the last time!" they said as if it justified all the evil in the world, but the man only grunted.

They awaited for Mike and Doctor Bozado to come back and Eren hurried to help them with some of the plates.  
Once his beer was placed in front of him, Petra proceeded to set the 'Risk'.  
She gave Eren a sorrowful look, but when he started excusing himself about his apparently bad choice, she laughed.  
  
"I'm kidding, handsome, I don't mind! The fact is that Mike here is the best strategist, and he doesn't bend the rules even for me...," she sent him a meaningful glance, but he only shrugged with innocence, "...Hange is a dictator who wins by conquering the most useless territories and Gunther and Bozado somehow always finish in a coalition," she explained.  
  
"Well, nobody said I don't play dirty" Eren responded with a devilish smile. Petra high-fived him.  
  
With the armies distributed (blue for Mike, violet for Petra, red for Doctor Bozado, indisputably black for Doctor Hange, yellow for Gunther and green for Eren ' _because of your eyes, obviously!_ ') the game began.  
  
  
-  
  


Eren cursed in every language he knew.  
He just discovered that he would have to conquer 24 territories because he'd picked the card that ordered him to destroy the green player. Eren wanted to shout at it, saying that he was already destroying himself in real life with great results, but there was no changing the challenge.  
  
And the majority of his troops were in Africa and South America, the two of three continents with the lowest number of territories.  
He distributed his army equally between the two continents, putting the remaining six pieces in Urali, because he was a little shit and Mike was not getting Asia that easily.  
He'd lost the track of time at some point, because that was how 'Risk' worked. You started at 5 PM and suddenly it was 10 PM.  
  
After the second round of drinks Gunther and Doctor Bozado indeed formed a coalition, almost blocking the entire Europe and North America, but Doctor Hange was ruthless and likely the luckiest person alive, as they just turned their territory cards in for maximum reinforcements for the third time.  
' _Shine On You Crazy Diamond_ ' was playing in the background. Its heavy notes accompanied the game exceptionally well.  
  
Eren was dutifully defending his two continents, waiting for a good opportunity to step into another one while gaining strength. He'd made a pact with Petra about a territory that they conquered reciprocally from each other just to gain the territory cards.  
  
Mike was an incredible strategist. He always attacked on purpose, irremovable by his friends verbal attacks, and backed off when he understood his chances were thin. The exact opposite of Eren, who just wasn't able to give up.  
Mike didn't have any continents, but his troops were placed in a way that Asia, Europe and America were constantly subtracted from their owners, and with them the conspicuous bonuses.  
Eren was petty, so now there were twenty one green Infantries in Urali.

He distractedly glanced at the bar and almost dropped the dices.

Doctor Levi was seating on one of the stools, his shoulders rigid under a black jacket.  
His hand was making a transparent liquid in his glass swirl.  
Eren quickly looked away, not wanting to be caught staring, but Doctor Levi seemed absolutely unfazed by the environment.  
No one else had noted the man and Eren tried to refocus on the game.

His attention diverted back to the man very quickly, as there seemed to be something going on at the bar.  
A young girl that Eren hadn't seen before was perched on one of the stools beside Doctor Levi, visibly uncomfortable because of the three men who had rounded her in a way that blocked every escape route.  
Eren mindlessly made another attack at Doctor Bozado's troops, assessing attentively the situation. The men weren't doing anything beside talking to the girl who wasn't prone to respond, but Eren knew it was only a matter of time. He switched his body to a position that would allow him to stand up quickly.  
Three versus one wasn't ideal, but Eren had engaged in worse fights and that girl needed help.  
David Gilmour's guitar reverberated in the background.  
Petra touched Eren's arm, but he didn't move his eyes from the bar. She followed his gaze and her lips parted in understanding. She noticed Doctor Levi as well.  
The other doctors were too absorbed by the game, because Doctor Hange was declaring attack to everyone.

And then one of the men took the girl by the forearm.  
Eren lunged forwards, but Petra pulled at his arm.  
He turned around irritated, because precious time was being wasted, but she murmured:  
  
"He's got it".  
  
Eren quickly looked in the direction of the bar, trying to understand. And then he saw it.

Doctor Levi had stripped off of his jacket, that was now bent neatly on the counter.  
He rolled up the sleeves of his white shirt, picked up his drink and placed a hand on one of the men's shoulder.

_'Remember when you were young...'_

The man turned away from the girl  
  
_'and shone like the sun_ '

Doctor Levi threw the content of his glass straight into his face.

_'Shine on you crazy diamond!'_

People were watching them.  
Doctor Levi kicked the man in the shin and when he bent down, Doctor Levi's knee met his nose.

_'Now there's a look in your eyes, like black holes in the sky'_

He had eyes only for the two men left.

_'Shine on you crazy diamond!'_

He was terrifying. His face bore no human emotions.

_'You were caught on the crossfire of childhood and stardom'_

He stomped on the man on the ground, climbing up, and broke his empty glass on the second man's face.

_'Blown on the steel breeze'_

Doctor Levi fought dirty. Eren thought that he combatted like he was fighting for survival.

_'Come on you target for faraway laughter'_

The third man almost managed to have a swing on him. Eren's lips opened to shout.

_'Come on you stranger...'_

Doctor Levi ducked,

_'You legend...'_

And his fist connected violently with the man's stomach.

_'You MARTYR...'_

He wiped his hands with a handkerchief.

_'And shine!'_

Doctor Levi didn't deign the men on the floor with a glance. Putting on his jacket, he looked briefly at the terrified girl, as if assuring himself she bore no wounds.  
He threw a bill on the counter, examined a dark stain on his knee that was undoubtedly blood with an annoyed expression, and simply left.

Eren's eyes were wide. He slowly turned towards his companions.  
They were calm, in no rush to help.  
They had known.

 

 

 


	8. Chapter 8

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Notes at the end of this almost 8k words chapter. 
> 
> PS. I've changer Hange's pronoun to 'they' in every chapter, since it wasn't coherent on my part to stick to the canon and keep referring to them as 'she'.
> 
> PPS. New pairing in the making ;)
> 
> PPPS. I might've added an unexpected POV at the end of this chapter.

Eren regarded his companions with wide eyes, whose green was lost in the reflection of the fire on the walls.  
He was speechless.  
  
He'd just witnessed one of the most influential men in both chemical and pharmaceutical environment take down three men twice his size.  
He clenched his hands into fists to prevent others from seeing that they were shaking.  
Surprisingly, Doctor Bozado was the first one to speak.  
  
"Look, kid, it's not a big deal. He defeated the bad guys, saved the girl. It's not like I couldn't have done it," he said with nonchalance, leaning forward and resting his chin on his palm.  
  
"And neither of you has thought about helping Doctor Levi out," Eren said, non bothering to put it up as a question.  
Doctor Bozado sighed. Eren glanced at Petra, but she was avoiding his eyes. Doctor Hange and Mike were looking at him like he was an interesting animal specimen.  
  
"We didn't help him because he could've easily managed it," responded Doctor Bozado, letting a bit of irritation slip into his voice.  
  
Oh, no. If there was someone in this group that had the right to be irritated, it was Eren.  
  
"He's still had to face three opponents! One of them has almost got him! You can't just consciously risk somebody getting hurt because you think he will make it. The stake is too high to take chances like that," he said hotly.  
If there was one thing he believed in, it was justice. Justice and will to help. And even if Eren didn't think highly of Doctor Levi's general attitude, he could not deny that the man had just fought to help an innocent.  
He might not like Doctor Levi on a personal level, but the other man had just earned Eren's respect, besides the one that Eren had had for his intellectual skills.  
He'd earned Eren's respect for his morality, evidently so similar to his own.

"Eren...," Petra said quietly and looked at him. Eren diverted his eyes from Doctor Bozado, who was looking at him with annoyance.  
"You cannot judge us for not doing something if you don't know our motives. It pains me that you apparently see us as a bunch of heartless bastards," she continued, raising her voice and holding Eren's gaze.  
  
An embarrassed blush colored Eren's cheeks. He'd just accused people he knew almost nothing about of cowardice and indifference.  
Deep shame about his outburst superimposed on his outrage.  
  
"I-I'm sorry...," he said, looking at the floor. He lowered himself and sat down.  
"You're right. You've been nothing but kind to me and I spoke driven by anger rather that logic. I hope you can forgive me," Eren bowed his head with repentance, addressing his words to everybody who sat at the table.  
  
"I cannot be angry with you for caring about another human being," Petra responded with kindness. He dared to look up and saw Doctor Hange and Mike nodding in agreement.  
Gunther was assessing him in an indecifrabile manner.  
Petra sighed.  
"We've known Doctor Levi for some time, now" she said slowly, as if trying to pick the right words. "We don't know him personally, only professionally, but he has our profound loyalty, because he's treated us with nothing but respect" she continued, Doctor Bozado and Gunther looking at her and letting her speak in their name as well.  
  
She apparently saw the skeptical look on Eren's face, because she clarified:  
  
"I assure you that his harsh behavior and his unkind words do not mean he's disrespectful", and Eren felt scolded.  
"He is our superior and we respond to him, but he had never doubted our abilities and he puts great faith in our choices. We're not just some mindless slaves who complete his every request. He actually cares about our opinions and gives us free hand where he can afford it," she continued and Eren didn't doubt for a moment that she was telling the truth.  
She spoke with the same light in her eyes that Eren had when he spoke about Mikasa, who many considered heartless and cold.  
"So respecting his request about not interfering with whatever he's doing is a small prize to pay in exchange for his trust. And it also includes standing aside when he literally fights his battles, because do not think that it hasn't happened before and that we haven't tried," she concluded, giving him a last, stern look, before smiling sadly.

Eren gritted his teeth as his mind processed the informations. Something had switched in him earlier that day, when he'd gathered that the emptiness of Doctor Levi's office matched the one reflected in his eyes.  
At first, Eren had felt pity, he'd felt sorry. But now he saw that he'd been mistaken. He'd judged the other man too quickly, classifying him as rude and snob, but there was much more to his persona that the surface of his character let transpire.  
Eren was pervaded by a familiar feeling and he couldn't stop a small smile from forming on his lips. Once he acquired the necessary determination to do something, there was no turning back.

Technically, Doctor Levi had never _explicitly_ expressed the request of leaving him alone in Eren's regard.  
Eren couldn't ignore such a loophole.  
There had been obviously a vast number of more or less detestable stares, as well as a colorful array of insults, but what were they in the greater scheme of things?  
He just had to find someone who would tell him what to do to take some of the Doctor Levi's responsibilities from him.  
  
Eren had to restrain himself from smiling wider, because his plan would not only help him to fulfill his moral duty towards a person he respected and who was clearly overworked, but it would also buy him more of Doctor Levi's time to actually learn something from the man.  
Deep down, an internship WAS SUPPOSED TO be a learning experience.

He glanced at the rest of the doctors, but nobody seemed to nurse open hostility towards him, even after his outburst.  
However, when he met Doctor Hange's eyes his expression froze. Their face was lit by triumph as they quirked one of their eyebrows and put up their drink in a silent 'cheers'. Eren was sure that they knew exactly what he'd just thought, even if he didn't know how. They hadn't struck him as a perspicacious person, but now that he thought about it, they were the boss of an entire section in Galenical Preparations.  
Hoping that they wouldn't reveal Doctor Levi his subtle plan, since they were his acquaintance, he returned their salute with his beer. That was apparently the right think to do, because they winked at him and nodded almost imperceptibly.

"Okay folks, I've got a game to win before the end of the evening," Mike said suddenly with a satisfied smirk, and just like that the attention turned back to the 'Risk'.  
  
"You wish," Doctor Bozado responded ironically, pointing to his quite impressive troops.  
Mike's smirk turned into a full smile as he uncovered his bonus territory cards for the first time since the beginning of the game.  
Eren groaned at the same time as Petra.  
  
"Quintuple maximum reinforcement bonus, plus twenty extra units because I posses the most part of the territories indicated on the cards" he said and proceeded to count the Infantries. Once he was done, his eyes turned to Eren.  
"It's time for you to leave Africa" he said and Eren took the defense dices. If he was going to loose, he could at least make Mike struggle.

-

The evening finished late, with Mike effectively winning by destroying Eren and conquering his assigned continents and with Doctor Hange, or Hange (" _We're brothers in arms now, you can call me Hange! Or Squad Commander, if you know what I mean_ " - Eren didn't) categorically forbidding Eren from paying his fare and making him feel slightly guilty. His guilt decreased a bit when they assured him that they were gaining well enough to buy the whole damn place and that only John stood between them and the Middle Ages paradise.  
Eren managed to take the last bus after getting hugged by Petra and Hange and after being nodded at by the male part of the company.

He threw himself on the bed, feeling strong pressure at his temples. His emotional capacity was not enough to let him easily process everything he'd felt in the past days. He guessed he was starting to see grey shades among his sea, usually made of black and white.

-

Sunday passed in a blur.  
Eren woke up relatively early, fulfilled his cleaning duties regarding the corridor (Connie tried to convince him that it was Eren's turn to clean the kitchenette, but stopped when Mikasa threw him _the_ look) and prepared a quick lunch for him and Armin.  
They'd been a part of their Faculty's orienteering team since year one, but now they were the oldest ones in the group so it was their duty to plan out the trainings.  
Not that they minded. They'd won the annual run for three years straight and they weren't going to lose it on their last year.

They came back home tired, but satisfied. Their team had managed to get to the assigned point in less than two hours with only three initial hints. Armin's squad formation was starting to pay off prettily.

When Mikasa asked him about the layout of the next week of his internship, he yawned and threw a short "shelf duty". It might've been a mistake, judging from Mikasa's furious expression, but he was too tired to care.

-

Monday morning found Eren feverishly looking into every drawer and container they had in the kitchen.  
Eren had made internal peace with the fact that there was no changing his mind about helping Doctor Levi out, and that included his tea-making duty. He could not continue to shamelessly steal paper destined for preparations, so he was looking for some kind of pad to put the tea mug on.  
He wasn't sure how the pad would return to him from Doctor Levi's office, but if he never tried he'd never know.

After ten minutes he exclaimed in victory as he pulled a forgotten round pad made of cork from behind all the tea mugs. He quickly bypassed a perplexed Marco, promising himself silently that he would talk to his friend soon, and went for the door. He was almost late.

  
________________

  
  
"Levi, I don't want to do it, but if you continue to carelessly exhaust yourself I will have to forbid you from staying in the Pharmacy during the night," Erwin said, looking at his best collaborator. He suppressed a wince when he saw a betrayed look in Levi's eyes.  
  
"I told you that I'm fine. How about you start minding your own business?" he said, his voice cold as ice.  
  
"As a matter of fact, your wellbeing and thus your efficiency _is_ my business," Erwin responded, adamant.  
  
"I would _never_ put my efficiency at stake, Erwin, and you should know that," Levi responded, almost offended by Erwin's suggestion.  
  
Erwin suppressed the upcoming guilt. His pool of ideas about how to help Levi was becoming truly shallow.  
  
"Levi...," he sighed and looked at his friend. The bags under his eyes had stopped disappearing some time ago.  
"... I'm sure that Mike would be more than happy to overtake that preparation for you. You know he's one of our finest, second only to yo-",  
  
"No," Levi interrupted him brusquely, lunching himself forward, his knuckles white on the armrests.  
  
"I just want to help you!" Erwin exclaimed in exasperation. "Why do you have to make it so goddamn difficult?!"  
  
Levi leaned back in his seat and closed his eyes. His posture relaxed as he recomposed his features. Erwin had grown to hate that impassive mask.  
  
"I know that and I appreciate your concern," he said, reopening his eyes. "I also know that you are restraining yourself from commanding me as my superior and I am grateful for that as well" he added. "I respect you as my boss and as my friend, but I will not let you take my only meaningful task from me. It's not your decision to make," he concluded, standing up.  
  
Erwin rested his forehead on the palm of his hand. He would never be able to forbid Levi from doing the preparation with a clean conscience. Damn it, he was too soft.  
  
Levi turned to leave, but the door of Erwin's office opened and banged on the wall. There was only one person who didn't bother to knock.  
  
"Commander Smith!" Hange stood in the doorway, performing their usual, strange salute. Erwin acknowledged fondly his oldest companion.  
"Shorty, go away, I've got serious things to discuss with the Commander," they told Levi cheerfully, only to be deigned by a hateful stare and a direct ' _Fuck you_ '.  
Levi closed the door behind him without a glance behind.  
  
Erwin sighed again and motioned for Hange to sit down.  
  
They were clearly excited about something and Erwin had seen them like that maybe once, that time he'd agreed to buy them a TEM microscope for human tissue examination.  
Once Levi's footsteps were no more audible, Hange popped their elbows on Erwin's desk, their eyes wide.  
  
"If you were talking about what I think you were talking about...," they started and Erwin was trying to follow, "... then I have found ourself a hot-headed, young solution".  
  
Erwin smiled, shaking his head.  
  
"Hange, it's nine in the morning. You know I need at least two coffees to understand your process".  
  
"I'm talking about our new, shiny trainee. You forbid me to take him under my skillful wing even after I've tried to blackmail you with your college pictures," they reminded him cheerfully, not an ounce of remorse in their voice.  
  
Erwin frowned.  
  
"What does young Jaeger have to do with our miserable attempts to help Levi? I'm more preoccupied about the fact that Levi doesn't seem to care about this tutorship and, for as long as I've known him, he's never done a half-arsed job," Erwin responded and looked directly at Hange.  
"I think that all this situation is compromising his beliefs" he added, dropping his head into his palm again.  
  
"Do you know that Eren is bringing him tea? And that he's called him Humanity's Biggest Asshole?" Hange said suddenly  
.  
Erwin looked at them again. He was quite surprised. The only people that Levi wasn't able to scare off were him and Zoë, but that was because they had gotten to know his true self (even if Levi had not been content to open himself up, but he'd been in a position where only honesty could've saved him).  
  
"Trust me, he will help. He'll not back off like the rest of them did, the boy's got no consideration for his own safety," they said with utter seriousness, and then they added:  
"Now, he can either help on his own, or he can help by our means" they smiled.  
  
"Hange, you do realize that he should only be here to learn and make Trost get off of by back?" Erwin asked, even if the gears in his mind were already turning. Helping Levi would be equivalent to freeing some of his time for his actual tutor responsibilities.  
Erwin knew that at the end of the semester the boy would have to submit a written evaluation of the internship. The good name of his Pharmacy was a priority. Without it, they would not be able to provide countless needing patients with the highest quality galenical drugs.  
  
"And he will. If Levi won't teach him, I will...",  
  
"That won't be necessary...," Erwin quickly interrupted, but Hange got on:  
  
"... and I don't know about you, but I'm done seeing that short, stubborn bastard so wretched," they said, slamming their hand on his desk. "Even one helping hand is better than none".  
  
Hange was right.  
Erwin would firstly have to assure himself that the trainee was consciously willing to aid, since helping his tutor was surely not included in his internship schedule. Then Erwin would vaguely point out some tasks that could be overtaken from Levi without compromising their quality.  
He smiled. It was time to introduce himself to Eren Jaeger.

He glanced briefly to his right, where a monitor connected to the video surveillance cameras stood on his desk.  
His eyes scanned quickly the various frames, revealing the new trainee in the customer section of the Pharmacy.  
Erwin huffed a laugh.  
The boy was trying to climb the ladder with numerous boxes squished between his left arm and torso.  
When one of the boxes almost fell to the ground, the trainee climbed down, put everything back into the big, carton box and started pacing.  
Then he glanced at his buttoned up, laboratory coat.  
He took its bottom part in the middle in one hand and pulled it up.  
He'd just made himself a fabric basket.  
After a moment, though, something near the entrance door captured his attention, because the boy quickly walked in that direction.

Erwin exited his office and got to the homeopathy section, eyes scanning the crowd. Luck was on his side, because the trainee actually bumped into him, his back facing Erwin. He was saying, with quite a desperation,  
  
"Mikasa, don't...",  
  
but when his back connected with Erwin's chest, he turned around and started to profusely excuse himself.  
Erwin, however, was looking at the cause of the boy's agitation.  
He'd probably never seen a woman so beautiful.

__________________

Eren had sensed Mikasa's aura in the Pharmacy. Her presence in there couldn't have meant anything positive.  
Once he'd gotten to her and she'd assured him that Armin and the rest of their friends were fine, he'd asked her why had she come.

That was how he found himself quickly backing off, a plea escaping his mouth:  
  
"Mikasa, don't...".  
  
There was absolutely no need for her to speak to Doctor Levi or to 'a superior' about his 'ruinous internship'.  
Eren knew that he wouldn't be able to physically prevent her from stepping into the Pharmacy because honestly, she was able to take him down since they were six, but he had to try to make her reason.

It was unfortunate that his back strongly collided with something very solid.  
He quickly turned around and exclaimed an ' _Excuse me!_ ', but he found himself staring at a broad chest dressed in a white laboratory coat.  
  
He glanced up. The man he'd just bumped into was tall (it was unfair that almost everybody in here was taller than Eren), blond hair neatly parted on the left side of his head. His posture was commanding, but his features were calm and collected.  
Eren subconsciously knew that he was someone important.  
  
His blue eyes focused briefly on Mikasa, before looking down at Eren.  
  
The man's expression swiftly changed into an open one, as he extended his right hand towards Eren:  
  
"I'm Doctor Erwin Smith. It's a pleasure to finally meet you, Mr. Jaeger," he said, smiling.  
  
Eren felt a bit intimidated by his astonishing appearance, but he immediately recognized the man's last name.  
  
"The pleasure is all mine, Doctor Smith," he grasped the man's hand firmly, bowing slightly his head.  
"Thank you for giving me an opportunity to perform my internship in such a professional environment. Your subordinates speak very highly of you," he added, because Mikasa's gaze was boring holes in the back of his head and he had to demonstrate that he knew how to be polite even without her help. He was a grown man.  
  
Doctor Smith shook his hand vigorously, but before he could respond, Mikasa made a step forward and positioned herself right by Eren's side.  
She bowed her head and spoke quietly, but clearly:  
  
"Then you're the right person to address to about my brother's internship, sir," she put empathy on the last word, keeping her eyes down.  
She was the most perfect example of respect, but the fact that she'd interrupted their introduction put Doctor Smith in a position in which he couldn't ignore her.  
She was too smart for Eren's good.

Doctor Smith, however, did not seem offended by her intromission. On the contrary, his gaze tinted with curiosity.  
  
"Please, feel free to express your concerns, Mrs...?" Doctor Smith said.  
  
Mikasa raised her head and met the man's eyes.  
  
"Ackerman," she responded. Eren was slightly abashed. She rarely gave her last name to somebody. He didn't notice the flick of surprise that crossed Doctor Smith's features.  
  
"Mikasa, there's no need to-" he started, but Mikasa silenced him with a glare.  
He was such a pushover.  
  
"What concerns me, sir, is that apparently Eren is to spend the upcoming week by positioning products on the shelfs. It may be hazardous on my part to disagree with your policy of conducting an internship, and I excuse myself in advance..., " she said, her gaze irremovable from Doctor Smith's eyes, "...but I know that the ultimate goal of said internship is to prepare us to face our future profession" she concluded, her voice calm.

Doctor Smith regarded her, his smile unwavering.  
Eren was impressed.  
When he spoke, there was only courtesy in his words:  
  
"Mrs. Ackerman, I'm glad that you've found it appropriate to voice your preoccupations. What you've said is true," he said, tilting his head a bit to the side. Mikasa's eyes narrowed with suspicion.  
"The crucial point of this experience is to apprehend the fundamentals on which our profession is built. I've placed Mr. Jaeger in the hands of my best coworker, knowing that it would undoubtedly change the proficiency of my laboratory, but I was ready to adapt to the resultant difficulties".  
  
Doctor Erwin spoke with such charisma and honesty that Eren was sold immediately.  
  
"With that said, Mr. Jaeger is our first trainee and I apologize that it is taking me this long to reorganize his tutor's work," he continued, briefly letting his gaze down. Damn, this guy was good.  
"It's a busy period for all of us and there are not enough free hands at my disposal...," Eren could've sworn that Doctor Smith's eyes flickered almost imperceptibly in his direction, but the gesture was to brief to be sure.  
Nonetheless, it was just the thing that Eren had wanted to hear. They needed help!  
"With all this said..." Doctor Erwin continued, looking up with a savage smile ghosting on his face, "... I hope that you realize, Mrs. Ackerman, that proper products' disposition is the pivot for a good marketing strategy concerning the sale. And if I'm not erring, this aspect of pharmaceutical industry is indeed part of your basic formation," he concluded.  
  
Eren was shook.  
  
_First_ , Doctor Smith's had agreed with Mikasa's opinion. _Then_ he'd apologized and _finally_ he'd unsheathed the last blow.  
He might've found himself a new idol.

Eren glanced at Mikasa, whose eyes widened slightly. She was taken aback.  
Eren had never seen her beaten at her own game.  
She lowered her head again and spoke:  
  
"Thank you for clarifying the situation for me. I'm grateful for the time that you've decided to dedicate me".  
She looked at Doctor Smith and held out her hand gracefully. Her expression clearly reflected her thoughts. She might've lost the battle, but she was not going to loose the war.  
Doctor Smith accepted her handshake, bowing lightly.  
  
"It was a pleasure meeting you, Mrs. Ackerman" he said. Mikasa did not reciprocate his courtesy, but Doctor Smith didn't seem to mind.  
With a last, direct look at Eren, she left.

Eren let out a breath he didn't know he was keeping in.  
He straightened himself when Doctor Erwin spoke to him.  
  
"I hope that you haven't given up on this internship yet, Mr. Jaeger. I'm positive that the situation will get better in the near future, but if there is something you want to discuss or to point out, feel free to visit me in my office," he said reassuringly.  
"Now, if you excuse me, my duties can't wait anymore," and with those words, he turned around.  
  
' _You bet I'll come and visit you, Captain America_ ' Eren thought. He just found the right person for his task of helping Doctor Levi.

-

Midday was quickly approaching. There was only a handful of products left to arrange, but Eren quickened his pace anyway.  
Yesterday he'd managed to prepare the tea for Doctor Levi without any company in the room and he wanted to keep it that way.  
The tea room was empty, as expected, and Eren proceeded with the brewing. He would eat his lunch once the tea was delivered.

He allowed himself to skulk near Doctor Levi's office door for about a minute to assure himself that no one was inside.  
He placed the same mug that he'd taken yesterday on the pad right in front of Doctor Levi's armchair, adjusted the plate on top of it and left.  
He wondered when exactly did Doctor Levi come back to his office, because he didn't want the tea getting too cold. It would make the whole effort pointless.  
But then Eren lifted his shoulders. If Hange hadn't told him nothing about it yesterday, then that had probably meant that it was okay to bring Doctor Levi's tea at this hour.

God, he was really turning into a housewife.

He quickly came down to the tea room, before more worrying thoughts such as cooking Doctor Levi's lunch could form in his mind.  
Petra joined him when he was taking his sandwich out of the fridge, and not long after that the small room filled with other, still unknown people.  
He spent his break listening to Petra talking animatedly about the upcoming sales season.

The rest of the day passed quickly, with Eren assisting Hannes and occasionally polemicizing with the clients.  
As Eren left the Pharmacy in the afternoon, he decided that he would visit Doctor Smith the following day.

-

The next morning he got to the Titan a few minutes before eight.  
He made his way to the tea room to, as per usual, put his lunch (leftover potatoes with chicken from yesterday evening) in the fridge.  
What he didn't expect, however, was to find his tea-pad pinned down on the fridge with a magnet, a piece of paper attached to it.

_'Do not enter my fucking office without my fucking permission. L.'_

Eren chuckled. Doctor Levi had put the note on the fridge to make it clearly visible to everyone.  
Fine.  
Eren removed the note and the pad, picked a pair of scissors from the drawer under the sink and cut carefully.  
Then he proceeded to find some adhesive tape.  
He placed the remaining of the note at the center of the pad. Now it said:

_'my fucking permission. L.'_

He wrapped the whole pad with transparent tape twice, just to make it more bothersome to take off the note, and slipped it in his coat's pocket.  
Two could play that game.

-

It might've been slightly worrisome that his Tutor hadn't checked on him for almost two days, but Eren truly didn't expect Doctor Levi to appear suddenly under his ladder.  
He thanked god he had a steady grip.  
  
"Care to explain why did you arrange the products according to their affine composition?" the smaller man asked with narrowed eyes.  
  
Eren looked at him, wondering if there was something important that he was missing or if perhaps Doctor Levi was crazier that he'd initially supposed.  
  
"Ehm, _because_ they are made from the same basal component, so when a client looks for one product, he will also find other similar ones in the same spot?" he responded, looking down at Doctor Levi.  
  
The man sighed as if he was in pain.  
Then he spoke:  
  
"Imagine that you are a client. You can do that for a bit without tiring yourself, right?"  
Eren restrained himself from rolling his eyes.  
"A pharmacy is not like a damn grocery store, where people get whatever costs less. The clients who buy homeopathic products are straight-minded. They look for a specific brand because they trust that brand. So, if you were a client making use of the same product for ten or twenty years, would you contemplate buying a similar product, but from another brand?" he asked and Eren's lips parted in understanding.  
Doctor Levi was making a damn good point. He would've never thought about viewing the thing in that light.  
  
He furrowed his forehead as an idea occurred to him.  
  
"So it would be better to organize products firstly by brand and then by composition..." he thought out loud.  
"That way, if a client was looking, for example, for a brand X's cough syrup, he would also find tablets for sore throat and maybe some product for influenza symptoms from the same brand..., "he continued, pondering, "... and he would buy more stuff in case he felt worse," he concluded, his eyes wide with revelation.  
He looked at Doctor Levi again, but the other man remained silent, so apparently Eren had understood the point.  
  
He allowed himself to feel a bit proud.

"You will rearrange the things the proper way. I will not have you casting shadow on my name by lowering the sale rates," Doctor Levi said, waving one of his hands in a dismissive gesture and leaving.  
  
It was true that older people liked to dramatize.  
  
"Nobody even knows your full name," Eren murmured to himself.  
  
"What did you say?" a low, sharp voice came from below him.  
  
Eren's stomach flipped.  
  
"I-I said that I would never slander your fame!" he quickly responded, busying himself with the boxes on the shelfs.  
He let a small sigh escape his mouth when no response came from the floor.  
  
A second later a strong hand gripped his laboratory coat and pulled hard downwards.  
Eren's lower back connected with the white, tile floor. Fortunately, he only fell from the second crosspiece of the ladder.  
Before he was able to express his outrage, however, Doctor Levi silenced him with a brief:  
  
"You deserved it for responding, brat".  
  
Eren slammed his mouth shut because the madman was right.

After the accident, he felt even more satisfied when he placed the modified tea-pad on Doctor Levi's desk.

-

Eren had eaten his lunch at high speed, because he wanted to talk to Doctor Smith before completing the day in the vending section.

Doctor Smith's office was very different from Doctor Levi's one.  
It was still very clean, but it was bright and the furniture was painted white, opposing the dark, wooden surfaces that reigned in his tutor's office.  
Three large bookcases placed behind Doctor Smith's desk were stocked with countless folders and the desk itself was covered by photo frames, pens and pharmaceutical bulletins.  
The man in question was seating in a comfortably looking armchair, looking at Eren as if he was expecting his visit.

If there was one thing that Eren was not, it was subtle.  
If this man had been able to shut Mikasa down in under a minute, then Eren's almost non-existent skills of persuasion would've never pulled the informations he needed out of Doctor Erwin.  
He opted for the good, old bluntness.  
  
"I want to be of help to Doctor Levi and you're his boss, sir. What can I do?".  
  
Doctor Smith's mouth quirked upwards.

-

That was how he found himself on the inventory duty, amongst other errands.  
Every morning, he had to check the exact quantity of psychotropic and 'poisonous' (but only by definition) substances that were stoked in two locked closets in the reagent's room.  
He simply had to make sure that their quantity corresponded to the one annotated at the end of the day before.  
Right now Eren was preoccupied, because there were two active principles he'd never heard about what had somehow diminished during the night.  
He went directly to Doctor Erwin, since he didn't wand Doctor Levi to know that he was performing some of his personal duties.  
His worries were replaced by curiosity when Doctor Smith told him that there was nothing to be concerned about, because it was Doctor Levi who used those substances.

So, Doctor Levi was doing one or more preparations every night.  
Eren was going to study in deep this new knowledge as soon as he had some time. The problem was that the time at his disposal was very scarse, between his homeopathy and tea duty (the pad had come back with an ' _I will crush you and I won't feel sorry'_  under the note), inventory and general help in the laboratory.  
Doctor Smith had given him his permission to aid members of Doctor Levi's squad as well, so now Eren was also titrating and weighting the reagents on shelfs 4A-4K.  
He silently blessed the fact that Doctor Levi was almost constantly locked away in the cleanroom or in his office, because that way he could maintain anonymity.  
  
Eren was sure that Doctor Levi wouldn't be happy about his help if he knew.

Eren's struggles were repaid on Friday morning, when he caught Doctor Levi reading the summary of Eren's reagents results and nodding to himself in acknowledgment.

-

They did say that all the good things came to an end.  
Said end, in Eren's case, was Doctor Levi in his office when usually, at that time of the day, he was supposed to be somewhere fucking else.  
Eren opened the door to Doctor Levi's office, his eyes concentrated on the mug-plate union because the porcelain had made a wobbling noice when his shoulder had accidentally bumped into the doorframe.  
Assuring himself that nothing had been spilled, he sighed in relief and faced the door to quietly close it.

"What the fuck are you doing in here".

Eren's heart skipped a few beats and all the warmth left his body.  
He was going to die young from all that frequent, unexpected stress.  
That voice was unmistakable.

In the haze that had possessed his mind, Eren thought about asking Doctor Levi the same question, since the man should've not been here at this goddamned hour.  
  
Eren was in a bad, bad situation.  
He slowly turned around. He knew that there were no plausible excuses that could explain why he'd barged unwanted into somebody else's room, without invitation and with hot tea.  
He really didn't want to meet Doctor Levi's eyes, but he did it anyway.  
God, the man seemed angry.  
Eren opted for honesty.  
  
"I'm bringing you your tea, sir" he responded with all the calm that he was able to muster.  
  
"How dare you enter my personal office like you own this place, you insubordinate, pretentious brat?" Doctor Levi asked violently, placing both of his hands on his desk and lifting himself up.  
The situation was degenerating too quickly for Eren's liking, but he just lowered his head and accepted the man's words. He had expected at least that much scolding.  
"I don't know who do you think you are, but I will not see you in here ever again" Doctor Levi continued, bypassing his desk and coming closer to Eren.  
He stopped at a really short distance, his presence over-imposing on everything else.  
"I don't  care about this little, god knows what moral duty that you seem to have in my regards because I don't fucking need it, do you understand me?" he asked, his voice low and deprecating.  
  
Eren didn't nod in agreement.  
  
He knew that 'I don't want your help' behavior too well.  
  
"You've been in here for two weeks and you really are convinced that your presence is relevant. Well, I'll delucidate you. It's not" he continued, poking Eren hurtfully in the chest.  
He winced internally at Doctor Levi's words. He had not expected such hostility and it was painful, but Eren suddenly remembered Petra's words and tried to look past the offenses. He owed her that much.  
"If there's something I despise more that disrespect, it's pity. You did nothing to gain the privilege to arrogantly pity me for any goddamned reason, and on top of that you acted without respect," he spat.  
"Now get the fuck out of here".

At the man's last words, something snapped in Eren.  
  
He could be accused of everything, but not of lack of respect.

"Sir, I think that's enough" he said quietly, the tranquility in his voice surprising even himself.  
  
Doctor Levi's eyes widened.  
  
"What did you say?" he asked as if he couldn't believe that Eren had contradicted him.  
  
That was okay. The man already considered him stupid and disrespectful. With what Eren was about to say, he wouldn't ruin his image in the man's eyes more than that.  
  
"I said I think that's enough," he repeated, raising his voice and meeting Doctor Levi's eyes with determination.  
"You accused me of having no respect and of pitying you without knowing you. I don't want to, but I must point out your hypocrisy, since you're categorizing me as ignorant and ill-mannered without knowing me as well" he said, putting everything he had into preventing his voice from wavering.  
  
Doctor Levi looked like Eren had just slapped him across the face.  
  
"I don't care if you want my help or not...," he stated, suppressing his anger. He needed all the clearness of mind he could afford. There was no taking the words back, anyways. "... because I'm going to give it anyway," he continued, digesting all the silent rage lightening Doctor Levi's hollow eyes.  
"It's been my conscious decision to do something with myself, since I didn't want to consume the time that you could've invested in more important things. You are in no position to bend my free will and to force me into staying put, nor I think you would," he said and finally let his frustration free.  
"So, since you already seem to think that I'm good only to arrange boxes, I won't stop doing things I consider right, even if it means that you'll make my life harder. I've endured worse," he straightened his shoulders, gripping the mug tightly.  
  
"Now that I think of it, you've been partially right, sir," he added after a heartbeat. "I will disrespect your command about not aiding, because, at least in this matter, I choose freely not to care about your opinion. You can think of me whatever you think suits me the most. I will survive without your respect for me, sir," he concluded, feeling his courage quickly vanishing. The words had been spoken and now was not the right time to dwell on the consequences.  
  
A last thought occurred to him as Doctor Levi opened his lips to speak.  
  
"And please, sir, restrain yourself from harming me too much physically," he felt like pointing out.

It was difficult to tell what Doctor Levi was thinking. Eren had never seen such a deep-rooted, plain mask. Only Doctor Levi's grey eyes betrayed his outrage.  
He said just one word.  
  
" _Out_ ".

He stepped back in surprise as Eren bypassed him instead of going for the door.  
  
Eren took the tea-pad from the pocket of his lab coat, placed it in its usual position and carefully placed the mug on top of it.  
He mechanically adjusted the position of the covering plate, even if it was perfect, and turned around.  
Doctor Levi was still facing the door, but Eren just went past him, set his foot outside and closed the door without looking back.

-

Eren was found sulking on the bench near the lockers by Doctor Zoë some time later.  
It had taken him ten minutes to stop the shaking of his hands and to calm down. He rarely let his rage run free, because he wasn't able to control his emotions and his words when he was angry. He acted on pure instinct and blind conviction of doing the right thing.  
He thought that he'd regret the words he'd spoken on Doctor Levi's behalf, but he was surprised when the guilt never came.  
He was just tired. He had not expected this internship to turn out so complicated.

Eren was glad that it was Hange who found him. He knew that Petra would've asked him questions, in bona fide of course, but he didn't want to talk about it. He wouldn't know how to put everything into words anyway.

Hange let their assessing eyes rest on Eren for a few seconds. They took him by the arm and dragged him into the tea room, chattering about some situation Eren had no clue about. He found their stream of words comforting, because it was keeping him from dwelling too much on his current situation.  
  
He realized it was well past 3PM only after he finished eating his lunch.  
He quickly pulled out his dated phone, only to see that there was one unread message from Mikasa.  
Hange seemed completely absorbed by a tale about some experiment they'd performed at the university, so he dared to read the message.  
It simply said: ' _I'm sorry_ '.  
Eren sighed. He wasn't angry at Mikasa. He didn't want her help, but it wouldn't be fair to resent her for wanting what was best for Eren.  
He smiled sorrowfully at the irony of the situation.  
If only Doctor Levi had the same way of thinking.  
He distractedly murmured ' _Yes_ ' to Doctor Zoë's question, realizing too late that he hadn't even heard what they'd said.  
  
"Oh. My God. You really will," they said with such happiness that Eren didn't even think about asking to repeat the question.  
"We better get going, then, there's SO MUCH I have to tell you before I introduce you to my current experiment!" they exclaimed, grinning and heading for the door.  
  
Eren briefly panicked, but he didn't want to go home.  
  
He felt a bit guilty when he responded to Mikasa's message with a ' _I'll be out today_ ', but she'd given him a good excuse to stay away from her questioning eyes for a little bit longer.  
Surely Hange's explanations couldn't be THAT bad.

-

Eren was sacrificing the last scrapes of his energy to look invested in Doctor Zoë's speech. It had begun very interestingly and Eren had found himself overwhelmed by the meticulousness and the depth of Hange's work.  
But some time between telling him about some guinea pigs (Eren doubted their species was really 'guinea pig', but he didn't want to press on the matter), Bean and Sonny, and outlining the last ten years of their work, Eren's focus had started to slip away.  
He heard the rolling shutters being closed.

Doctor Hange wouldn't notice if Eren closed his eyes just for a moment, would they?

_________________________

He was walking fast through the corridors, not letting anything escape his attention. Everything had to be in place.  
The cleanroom was immaculate, obviously, since he'd taken care of it himself.  
But there were too many things he hadn't supervised directly. He wasn't preoccupied, though. The night was still young; he would make it in time, as always.

He noticed that a light in Zoë's section hadn't been turned off.  
He didn't bother to suppress a quiet 'Tch'. He'd told those idiots to remember to switch off the god damned lights too many times.

He was mildly surprised when he heard Four Eyes' animated voice from behind the door separating their part of the laboratory.

"Hange, what did I tell you about the fucking lights? And are you talking to yourself again?" he spat swinging the door open, not caring if he'd startled them. He hadn't forgotten about the 'Shorty'.  
Hange was in the middle of drawing a Gibbs' diagram, but they quickly turned and hushed him.  
  
"You're interrupting my process," they said and glanced towards the table on their right.  
"Oh. I guess I got carried away," they whispered with fondness.  
He glanced it the same direction.

The kid was half-spread on the table in the corner, his eyes closed. His head was placed askew on his outstretched arm on the countertop. God, he wasn't even able to properly lay down while listening to Hange's babble.  
Levi felt his headache build up.  
He pinched the bridge of his nose and sighed.  
  
"Hange, send the kid home" he said and turned away. Before he could regret a decision he'd apparently just taken, he added:  
"And tell him that he's in the cleanroom with me on Monday".  
  
He walked away to avoid the shocked look on Zoë's face.

Neither him nor Hange noticed a small smile that lightened up Eren's face, covered by his long hair.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, so.  
> This chapter has been a true pain in the arse to write! It's taken me two days to plan it out, since I've noted that there were too many vague variables.  
> Firstly, I've understood that the most important part of Eren and Levi's SnK relationship is utter trust. I had to make sure that Eren started to feel it, in order to lay out a proper base for other feelings in the future.  
> Secondly, Levi really would've never done a half-assed job. He's a perfectionist and he's always taken any task regarding Eren with nothing less than complete dedication. WITH THAT SAID, his behavior in this fic is necessary for his past's background plot. He's having a difficult moment, but I'm going to finally describe the reason behind his hostility probably in the next chapter. 
> 
> I've given this chapter much thought, but in the end it turned out exactly as I wanted it to be.
> 
> I really hope You liked it.
> 
> And just FYI:  
> Eren is 23,  
> Levi is 35 and he'll be turning 36 the same year (I've lowered the age gap by ca. 3 years)  
> Erwin and Hange are both 37. Since Hange's true age is unknown and Erwin's age is undefined, I've taken the liberty to make these two peers, because I wanted them to be college buddies.


	9. Chapter 9

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm back.  
> I've never intended to abandon this story, but real life has kept me busy. Too busy.  
> I've got a couple of free weeks, maybe a free month, but then I?ll have to go back to the university, the exams and the thesis. 
> 
> This chapter has taken me many days to write. I admit that it was difficult to go back to writing, but I hope that the quality of what's written is still the same as it was before. 
> 
> We're finally starting to have an outlook on Levi's situation, as well as an explanation for his quite unprofessional and harsh behavior in the past chapters.
> 
> There's still some polishing left to do, but from now on Levi will take his Tutor's responsibilities seriously. 
> 
> Poor Eren.

 

Eren woke up late on Saturday morning. He groaned as he registered a stabbing pain in his neck, probably caused by all the tossing and turning he did during the night. He hasn't slept so restlessly in many days.  
He pressed three fingers to the painful spot and slowly massaged it - he'd learnt how to diminish the pain as much as possible after yet another beating he'd taken for Armin. He'd come back home wobbling because the muscles in his right thigh had been in an excruciating spasm due to a harsh kick he'd received. That time, his mother had almost forbidden him to see his friend, because ' _that boy has a terrible influence on you, Eren!_ ', but she couldn't had been more wrong.

His stomach rumbled as soon as his sleepy mind catalogued the smells coming, undoubtedly, from the kitchenette. He distractedly looked at his phone, only to find a message notification from an unknown number. With his brows furrowed, he slowly unlocked his cellphone and went straight to the inbox.

 **Unknown** [5.17 AM]:  
_Good morning, soldier!_

Eren's features relaxed as a small smile stretched his lips. At this point, he didn't even wonder how had Doctor Hange gotten his number. Or why, for the love of God, nobody at the Titan seemed to have a normal sleeping schedule.

_You did a good job, yesterday. We shall deepen your knowledge about my experiments soon..._

Eren stopped smiling at an astonishing speed,

 _..., but I'm writing this message to tell you that you've been officially invited to join the Cleanroom no. 1 on Monday._  
_It truly is a memorable moment for the Titan Pharmacy, although I'm sure you'll find my research much more interesting than putting together some substances._  
_Ps. Don't talk to Doctor Levi while he works in the cleanroom. It "disturbs him", or something like that, and his kicks hurt._

Eren had to re-read the message twice, while his heart picked up its pace as the events of the last day unfolded themselves among the dissipating morning numbness that occupied his brain.

Oh God.

He'd talked back to Doctor Levi. Then, he'd proceeded to shamelessly brood in the changing room, but at some point Doctor Hange'd arrived and he'd ended up spending many hours listening to their explanations.  
The last thing he'd heard before Doctor Hange had taken him home had been:  
" _Tell him he's in the cleanroom with me on Monday_ ".

The rhythm of his heartbeat slowed down as he replayed those words again and again, trying to remember as best as he could how they'd been said.  
Had Doctor Levi been emotionless? Angry? Had he pronounced that phrase on the exhale, because the tiredness had finally gotten the better of him?  
It was a shame that his brain was usually highly uncooperative, and today was no different, as he just couldn't recall.  
For a moment, Eren wondered if being angry at his brain meant that he was, indirectly, angry at himself.  
He didn't have much time to dwell on it, though, because two soft knocks rang out from his bedroom's door.  
Mikasa.  
He passed a hand through his long, sleep-entangled hair, realizing that if he still hadn't cut it, there was a good possibility he'd just let it grow. He actually didn't care that much about his appearance; he'd never had.

"I'm coming, 'kasa!".

-

Eren took his habitual seat in the kitchenette, on Mikasa's left and Armin's right, and just in front of Marco. Just like every morning, this permanent seats' assignment made him think of home, where everybody'd had his own place, right under his mother's loving gaze. Just like every morning, he pushed those thoughts aside, hurriedly, before they'd make him feel.

He glanced at the clock. 11 AM. Jean was at work, then. He'd found a part time job in a nearby shopping center some years ago. The pay wasn't extremely high, but he had to work only on Saturdays and only half-shifts. Sometimes, they'd even give him a discount or a coupon to one of the shops.  
Sasha and Connie were probably sleeping... Or doing other things. Eren shook his head, because he really, really didn't want to think about that during breakfast.  
He smiled at his friends as Armin passed him a plate full of scrambled eggs, and murmured a grateful ' _thanks_ ', because he hadn't contributed in any way to prepare the food (' _it's called parasitism, Eren_ '), but he silently decided that he could at least wash the dishes later.  
He looked at Mikasa's gracious hand, rested right beside his own. With a pang of guilt, he remembered that he hadn't yet accepted her apology. His hand found hers and he gave it a little squeeze, while his eyes looked into the soft steel of her glance. Mikasa squeezed back without hesitation and Eren couldn't fight back a big smile. He retracted his hand and took the fork, looking briefly outside. Today would be a beautiful day, with cloudless sky and barely no wind.

-

Sometimes, Eren was naive. Right now, for example, he thought that he would eat his breakfast, study a bit and go out with Armin. A perfectly peaceful day, without arduous tasks, verbal abuses and without being constantly on edge.  
Yes, Eren could be very naive.

"So, how's your internship going, Eren?," Marco asked conversationally around a mouthful of eggs. Damn him and his big eyes and his feigned innocence.  
Eren's friends were all little shits and they were too smart for his own good.  
Now, with three inquiring pairs of eyes directed at him, he couldn't just ignore the question. He quickly glanced ad the door, wondering if he could simply run, but Mikasa drew her chair back and his chances of escape diminished brusquely. The sudden silence in the kitchenette became oppressive.  
Eren sighed and put down the cutlery, taking a sip of tea. Talking about his internship wasn't a problem, per se. The problem was that he just couldn't find the right words.  
How could he tell them about working for Doctor Levi, if his voice would be tinted with disappointment rather than excitement? How could he explain them that he'd endured many, too many personal and professional degradations and that he'd endure them all over again, just to see Doctor Levi working for a handful of minutes? How could he admit that he'd failed to remain emotionally detached, even if he knew that, once this year would be over, he'd just become a vague memory in all those busy, genial minds? He was already painfully aware of the fact that he always gave too much and rarely got something back; there was no need to voice it.

Eren had never been a good actor, but he knew how to hide sadness. He had years of experience. A brief laugh came easily to him as he looked cheerfully at his friends. He'd tell them about Petra and Doctor Zoë, about Mike and Doctor Smith. He'd tell them about Hannes, about the endless drugs storing and about Doctor Pixis' antics with the clients and his ever-present flask.  
He'd tell them what he'd learnt and then he'd ask them about their internships.  
It wasn't necessary to talk about the negative things, was it? In the end, it was a beautiful day.

  
~•••~

  
Erwin looked at his subordinates. He detested to take free days away from them, but some things had to be cleared up before Monday. He threw a brief glance to his right, where grey eyes were patiently looking at him. Levi had stayed here again.

"Good morning, everybody," he greeted everyone, slipping easily into an apologetic look.  
A 'good morning, Mister Smith' arose in response from the bright conference room (located beside Erwin's studio), managing to partially mute Hange's loud entrance; they hurriedly reached his desk and passed him a few sheets of paper. Erwin stole a quick look at the documents, humming with approval. He then nodded at Zoë, motioning vaguely to the seat right next to the shorter man. Hange extended their hand to pat Levi on the head, but one glance from the other man seemed sufficient, since they defeatedly took their seat without causing any fuss.  
If Erwin wasn't surrounded by at least sixty people, he'd scold himself, smiling, for still remembering Levi as a rebellious and quite dangerous young adult, even if, at that time, he hadn't been much older than his friend.  
If he wasn't surrounded by sixty people, he'd tell Levi to go home.  
Instead, he looked back at his audience.

"Some time ago, we've undertaken the negotiations with a small pharmaceutical industry," he started and noted that everyone immediately straightened their backs. Expanding the Titan Pharmacy had always been a very important step towards collective growth.  
"If we manage to make an agreement with the owners, some changes in the staff disposition will be unavoidable," Erwin continued, letting his gaze sweep through the faces. There were people he didn't know personally and others whose names he didn't recall. However, it didn't matter. They were all qualified and they all answered to him.

"Monday is set as the deadline for the owners' ultimate decision. That's why, today, I ask you to submit your updated curriculum vitaes, since some of you have more experience with the Industrial environment, and I can't deny that it's quite different than the Pharmaceutical one," he said, keeping the tone of his voice calm. He didn't want his subordinates to think that there would be dismissals, yet he wanted them to understand that modifications regarding their workplaces were inevitable. He restrained himself from looking at Mike and Petra. They knew that if their separation meant greater good, Erwin wouldn't hesitate.

He let a few seconds pass.

"Now, ladies and gentlemen, let me apologize in advance for stealing a bit more of your time, but since the end of the month is coming, I've taken the opportunity to anticipate our monthly summary appointment," Erwin resumed, smiling internally at a few of his closest employees who swiftly hid their annoyance behind curious expressions. He hated those meetings with passion as well.  
"This obviously means that it won't be held on the 31st of September," he continued, letting a real smile stretch his lips, "so feel free to spend the last day of the month as you wish," he concluded, not magnanimously, just gladly. His workers earnestly deserved some time off. At his last statement, many cheerful expressions lightened up the audience.

Erwin turned his head to the right and caught Hange's gaze. They took the hint and turned the projector on.

"The meeting will proceed as always. Doctor Zoë and their team have promising updates about a polymer they've managed to appropriately functionalize in order to improve the drug release from our transdermic patches," he said, getting up from his seat to make room for Hange, who finally let their enthusiasm break free. Staying put for even brief amounts of time put a great restrain on them.  
"Doctor Levi," he continued, "will highlight the amounts and the typologies of all the preparations we've done this month, focusing on the most requested ones, since we shall expect the same demands in October. He will also talk about a few new guidelines emitted by the EMA, drafted to upgrade the level of sterility of our workplace".  
Erwin glanced to his right. Levi seemed just as uninterested as always and even more tired. Now, however, was not the appropriate time to worry.  
"At last, Doctor Pixis will inform us about the new drugs that have been approved this month, about those who've been taken off the market and about those who's packagings have been modified," Erwin concluded, neatly stocking his documents in his briefcase. He took the seat that had been occupied by Hange and his eyes met Levi's. He sighed as they both turned their heads towards the projection screen. It would be a long day.

-

As the last person left the conference room, Erwin allowed himself to finally lean back in his chair and loosen his tie. He looked at the expensive watch on his wrist, courtesy of his father, and groaned. It was already 6PM.  
"Back off, four-eyes," Levi said half-heartedly somewhere to Erwin's right as Hange put a cup of tea in his hands. Erwin grimaced at the strong scent of theine. He favored coffe.

"Hange," he started with a stern tone. Zoë adjusted their googles and looked at him innocently.  
"How many times do I have to remind you that your presentations should last less than thirty minutes?".

Hange stretched out their arms and started marching across the conference room.  
"You always use modal verbs, Erwin! 'Should', 'could'... You cannot blame me for taking the liberties you've so clearly laid out by avoiding the imperatives," they responded, shrugging, as if what they'd said was the simplest truth in the world.  
Erwin did not have any patience left for this.

"You wouldn't want to understand even if he wrote it down on somebody's naked arse and made them run across the conference hall," Levi summarized, glancing at the exit door. His eyes snapped at Hange as Zoë suddenly got very close to him and pointed their finger at the shorter man.

"You," they said, "stop taking his side. And as for you, Bulky Blond Boss," they looked at Erwin with reproach, "it was very rude to interrupt me in the middle of the explanation".

"He did it because you've been talking for fifty-four minutes and some were close to dying of boredom. Can you imagine the amount of paperwork he'd have to fill if people died in his Pharmacy?" Levi responded, taking a sip of his tea. Hange ignored his comment. Levi often referred to their projects as 'boring' or 'bat-shit crazy', but he was the only one who listened carefully to every word Hange said. Always.

Their usual bickering was suddenly interrupted by Erwin's notary entering the room.  
Erwin put himself together. Something had happened. It was too early for the man to come.

"They've agreed," was the only thing the notary said, smiling.  
Erwin's tense shoulders slumped. He smiled at the man and looked at Levi.

"You did it. You made them sign".

His friend drank the last droplets of his tea, as if he didn't want any of the beverage go to waste. He always did that.  
  
"I did what needed to be done," Levi responded, getting up. He adjusted the white scarf meticulously wrapped around his neck and pulled at the cuffs of his white shirt. He cast one last look at Erwin and Hange. The silver of his eyes was almost lost amongst the red of the dilated blood vessels and Erwin thought, for the umpteenth time, that it didn't look good on him. Just as Levi started to walk towards the door, the notary's phone rang and the man excused himself, leaving the room. Erwin watched as Levi turned his back on them.

"I've heard that you've invited your trainee to the cleanroom," he said, hoping to spark some emotions in the shorter man, even if they had to be negative.

Levi turned his head and held Erwin's gaze.

"Have you read the kid's surname on his application?," was the only thing he said, looking at him without blinking.  
Erwin looked away and sighed, passing a hand through his hair. The day was over, he could dishevel it already.

"Yes, I did".  
Levi did not respond any more. He pushed the door and set one foot in the corridor.

"And Levi...," Erwin added and the other man stopped on his tracks, letting Erwin know that he had his attention, "... I've ordered Japanese, triple portion. It's in my fridge," he said. Levi didn't move from the door.  
"You're going there, aren't you?" he asked, not waiting for a response. He already knew it. "Take it and let me know if it's good. I've been looking for a good Japanese takeaway for ages and I trust her opinion much more than I trust yours, when it comes to food," he concluded lightly.  
Once, Levi wouldn't have accepted his help. Hell, he would've probably spat in his face.  
He was still a proud man, sometimes too proud, but he wasn't stubborn anymore.

"Thank you," Levi said quietly and, with one last nod, he left.

 

~•••~

 

Eren, Armin, Mikasa, Marco, Sasha and Connie were concluding the last preparations for the lunch. The table had been made, the beverages had been laid out and the glasses had been put in front of every seating spot. Marco controlled the potatoes in the oven for the last time and turned it off. He spent the fire under the pot with his signature stew as well, smiling to himself with content. He pulled out his phone just as their obnoxious doorbell rang twice. Sasha got up to press the intercom button.  
Eren remembered how the bell used to make them jump in surprise when they'd moved in. It still did, sometimes, such as when he was too immersed in his studies. Armin always laughed at him, and Eren punctually reminded him of that time he'd fell off his chair because Eren had thrown one of those cheap, plastic spiders at him. And if Jean happened to pass by while they were reminiscing about those past events, they'd start to laugh maniacally, because that same night they'd put the spider on Jean's bed cover.

Speaking of the devil.  
With a turn of the keys, Jean unlocked the front door and stepped inside. He greeted them with a smile, took off his jacket and his scarf and went to the kitchen sink to meticulously wash his hands.

"Come _on_ man, we're hungry," Connie said from his seat, regarding the baking tin full of steamy potatoes that Mikasa'd just put on the table.  
Jean threw him an annoyed look, but he didn't respond. He was visibly in a good mood. Eren eyed him with suspicion.  
Jean, however, turned his back on them and started to help Marco with the portioning of the stew, passing the boy in question their cheap, white bowls.  
If one looked closely, he could see the tiny scratches on the edges of the bowls, where the paint had peeled off a bit because of the friction of the dish sponge.  
Once everyone sat down, Jean smiled with satisfaction.

"Guess who's gotten ourselves seven tickets to the last projection of the new Avengers movie?".  
At that, Eren was sure that every single one of their neighbors had heard their collective cheer.

"Man, you're the best!" Connie shouted, throwing his hands in the air and making a piece of potato fly away from his fork.

"I know, I know," Jean responded, still smiling, but then he regarded them all with a hard look. Well, all except for Mikasa.  
"I expect you to study at least four hours before we go out, at half past six PM sharp".  
They didn't even groan at his request.  
Chewing, Eren was already planning out how to squeeze the next two chapters of Physics Chemistry in four hours without making his brain explode.  
He really, really wanted to see that movie.

-

They got out at 6:30 PM under Jean's watchful eye. The sun was already setting down. Soon, Eren would have to pull out of the closet his winter jacket.

"Which cinema?" Mikasa asked quietly, looking at the bus' schedule she always kept in her small purse.

"The tickets are accepted in two cinemas in our district, but one of them is approachable only by feet," Jean responded. "The other one is near the Maria Hospital, so we could take the bus and get off there. Then, we'll only have to walk for about five minutes," he explained, looking at Sasha.  
"We'll pass near a convenience store that's got one-dollar snacks. Do you have your grey hoodie on?," he asked. Sasha grinned at him, unzipping her jacket.  
"Perfect. Operation Pregnant Fiancèe it is".  
Everyone nodded. Eren had to admit, with reluctance, that Jean would make a good leader.

-

At last, they passed by the Titan on the bus. Eren mentally smacked himself. Jean must had been referring to the hospital near the bar he'd been to last Saturday.  
He tried not to look nervous, but Mikasa was seated on the opposite side of the bus, glancing out of the window, while Marco, Jean and Armin restrained themselves from saying more than 'I _t's huge!_ '. Eren chuckled.

"Yeah, it's got two floors. The vending section is on the ground floor, as well as all the laboratories. The storage and the offices are on the first floor," he explained, looking at the entrance door. There were still many clients inside, even if it was already evening. Eren wondered if they were open on Sunday as well, but given the fact that the Titan was undoubtedly the biggest drug supplier of the district, they probably were.  
The traffic light turned green and soon the Pharmacy disappeared from view.

"Okay, we get off at the next stop. We've got twenty five minutes 'till the film starts. That means ten minutes in the snack shop -," Jean looked at Connie and Sasha, emphasizing the amount of time, "-five to get to the cinema and ten to get into the cinema hall. Got it?," he asked, pressing the button to stop the bus as everybody nodded. Eren was tempted to tease Jean about his bossiness, but his friend was petty enough to negate him his cinema ticket, so he kept quiet. All in all, it was a good exercise for his patience. 'Always have a positive outlook at life', the life coaches said, didn't they?

With that thought, he almost died getting out of the bus. Well, not actually almost died, but he tripped over his unlaced shoes. If he'd fallen and hit his head, who knows what the consequences could've been?

Mikasa looked at him worryingly, while his friends were already several meters ahead and walking.  
"It's nothing, Mikasa," he said reassuringly.  
"Go, I'll catch up in no time," he added, bending down to lace his right shoe.  
She hummed in response and jogged towards the rest of the group.  
Eren quickly looked at the palms of his hands. They were a bit red from the impact of the fall, but no skin was broken.  
He got up once he was done, dusting off the patch of fabric where his knees had rested on the sidewalk.  
Before he joined the others, he curiously looked at the colossal building to his left. The Maria Hospital was like any other hospital, with its white walls that were darker near the roof because of the unforgiving humidity and with its rows of identical windows. Most of the lights were on, but the pattern was interrupted by pitch black points here and there, where the rooms were void, because there was no one to keep the lights turned on for.  
Eren diverted his eyes. Hospitals didn't make him feel sad. They made him feel hollow.

He had to blink twice, because he could've sworn that he'd just seen Doctor Levi crossing the street to get to the hospital.  
His stomach flipped as he looked again. It was him. Not many men out there with that height or that haircut.  
He wasn't facing Eren, thank God for that, but Eren forced himself to look away anyways. He didn't know why, but seeing his Tutor outside of the Pharmacy felt like violating the man's privacy. He quickly ran towards his friends, because he couldn't risk one of them shouting his name with impatience.

As he easily joined the ongoing conversation, he discharged the impertinent thought that kept nagging his brain. It was highly unlikely that Doctor Levi was a patient of the hospital, even if his physical, tired appearance might suggest otherwise. Patients don't usually bring takeaway food in the evening, and they should carry a bag with a change of clothes, right?  
Eren shut his stupid, inquiring mind down. What Doctor Levi was doing at the hospital was absolutely none of his business.

-

Once the snacks had been purchased (Eren and Jean had been strictly banned from entering the shop, because no one had time for their fight over the flavor of the chips) and neatly stoked under Sasha's hoodie, they headed for the cinema. As it turned out, it was one of those big ones, with flashy lights by the entrance and the smell of popcorn and butter that greeted the customers from meters away. The entrance hall was packed with people, as to be expected from a Saturday night. For a second, Eren stopped and breathed in the atmosphere. He'd been to a cinema only a handful of times and every time he'd felt exhilaration. He wondered if he'd still feel it if he had the luxury of coming here every weekend. Armin poked him on the arm with a huge smile on his boyish face, and Eren grinned back. They passed the ticket queue to reunite with the others and, all together, they went straight to the ticket control.  
A big guy with the cinema's uniform didn't even spare a glance at Sasha as he validated their tickets.  
Once they entered the correct projection room, Eren and Jean exchanged a quick look.  
Success.  
Their seats were all one next to another. Mikasa and Marco went to the bathroom, while Eren entered the row behind Jean, followed by Armin. Soon, the lights dimmed and the commercials started. Sasha and Connie were already sorting the snacks for the seven of them and, as soon as a pack of chips reached Eren, he opened it.  
He didn't have any self control and he wasn't ashamed of it.

He was so engrossed in watching a particularly flashy movie trailer that he didn't notice Marco leaning in to tell him something.

"According to the ticket, this is my seating place, Eren," he said softly and it took Eren a moment to register his words.  
He looked at his freckled friend with confusion, but Marco diverted his eyes to Jean almost imperceptibly.  
Oh. _Oh_.

"You're right," Eren answered hurriedly.  
"My seat number is 9, not 6," he said, getting up and almost dropping the bag of chips.

He wasn't ready to draw conclusions about what had just happened and fortunately he didn't have to (for now), because the movie was about to start.

-

Sunday greeted Eren with thunders and rain so thick that he wasn't able to see the street from the window of his room.

Reluctantly, and with a little scolding from Mikasa (" _Come on, Mikasa, running in these conditions could improve our performance!_ " - " _No_ ".) he and Armin cancelled the orienteering training.

As Eren tried to understand what he was reading, cursing badly whoever had put Physics Chemistry as an obligatory subject, he counted hours until Monday.  
After dinner, he searched for his annotations about cleanrooms in the pile of papers from his Third Year.

He'd never enter Doctor Levi's room unprepared.

-

Once Eren set foot at the Titan on Monday morning, he was greeted by Hannes.

"You're with me until noon, boy," he said, loudly as per usual, "Doctor Smith's said to inform you that Doctor Levi has a meeting in the morning".

Eren tried not to jump to conclusions too soon, but he couldn't hide his disappointment. He'd built up his hopes about the cleanroom too much.

Hannes put his hand on his shoulder and shook him a bit.

"What's with the long face? Doctor Smith's said that you'll be going to the cleanroom anyways," the man said, smiling. "They've even prepared the coverall and everything".

At that, Eren gave him his brightest smile. Hannes' cheerfulness became contagious all of sudden, because he found himself nodding and saying:  
"Let's go, then!".

Hannes clasped his hands.

"It's Monday, boy, so save your energies for all the unpacking we'll have to do".

Eren's smile didn't even waver as he swiftly put his stuff in his locker and reached Hannes at the top of the stairs.  
He looked at all the packages that had to be unboxed.

Remember, he thought to himself, first alphabetically, then by the date of expiration.

-

Noon arrived quickly.

Eren's foot was nervously tapping on the floor of the preparation's laboratory.  
He mentally checked again if he was fully equipped. Boot covers, face mask, cap, protective googles, coverall, gloves, all still wrapped in plastic packagings with a fat, black ' **STERILE** ' on top.

"If you're going to continue to tap you foot like this, I won't let you in," a plain voice coming from behind Eren startled him to the point of jumping a bit.

He didn't want to turn around. The memories from the last Friday's argument were still very vivid.  
He'd never asked to be 23 and to maturely accept the consequences of his actions.

He swallowed just as Doctor Levi came to stand beside him.

"Good morning, sir," was all he managed to say.

"Come," Doctor Levi said, keeping all his garments in one hand, while opening the door to his cleanroom with the other.  
He didn't seem angry. He didn't seem anything. He just... was.

How stupid of Eren to think that their verbal confrontation had meant something to the other man.  
He couldn't help it; he was still such a child.

"This is the anteroom," the smaller man said, the tone of his voice unchanging, as his eyes settled down on the small space between the actual cleanroom and the rest of the laboratory.

He let Eren pass, without even looking at him, and he closed the door behind them.

"There is a sterilizing UV lamp above the door," he said as he put down his equipment on a small bench. Then, Doctor Levi cast him a glance and Eren straightened his back immediately.

"Can you tell me what is usually interposed between the anteroom and the working space?".

Eren thanked himself for having read his own annotations.

"An airlock, sir," he responded swiftly, wincing internally at the tone of his voice. He had to cool down his enthusiasm. He didn't want to be annoying.

"In your opinion," Doctor Levi continued with the questioning, "will we be working in an environment with a definite pressure, or the airlock is here because we'll be working in an atmosphere with a different composition than normal?".

Eren panicked a bit. Was it a tricky question? Would Doctor Levi forbid him from entering the room if he responded incorrectly? His breath quickened.

"This is not an exam, kid," Doctor Levi interrupted the train of his thoughts, glancing at the watch that he'd just taken off of his wrist.  
"Although, if you're going to waste more of my time and, most importantly, let your nervousness overcome your judgement skills, I won't let you into a place that you're temperamentally not fitted into," he said, unemotional, and Eren clenched his fists with determination.

"In my opinion," he waged his words carefully but steadily, "premised that I don't know what are the standards of sterility for Your cleanroom, the airlock is here for both of the reasons you've listed," he said and waited for Doctor Levi to ask for a deeper explanation.

The other man checked his watch again, but then his eyes met Eren's questioning ones.  
Eren waited some more.

Doctor Levi sighed.  
"I won't ask useless questions just so you can show me that you've studied," he said and Eren felt ashamed for some reason.  
"Your knowledge has been already evaluated by your Professors".

He unpacked a pair of white gloves and put them on.

"Today, I'll be preparing sixty two single-dose flasks of methotrexate powder for liquid solutions and sixty two flasks of solubilizing liquid, all for intravenous administration and most with different concentrations," Doctor Levi explained and Eren nodded.

He found it very difficult to contain his excitement at the prospect of being able to watch the extraordinary man work for so much time, but he hid it anyway.

Doctor Levi pinned Eren down with a hard look.  
"You won't speak unless when spoken to," he said, his voice low.  
"I might've tolerated your juvenile temper and your incapacity to keep your mouth shut, but I won't do so in the cleanroom. One word or one sign of insubordination and you won't set your foot in here ever again," he continued.  
Eren held his breath, but he held Doctor Levi's gaze as well.  
"I don't care if you are fifteen of twenty five; you answer to me and if you feel that you're not able to contain your ego for the next four hours, be mature enough and leave now".

Eren could only nod in understanding.  
He was hot-headed, but he'd never compromise a preparation of multiple doses of a chemotherapeutic drug.  
He was sorry that the man didn't have an ounce of trust in him, but it was understandable.  
Eren had done nothing besides being insubordinate for the past two weeks.

He felt powerless. He didn't know what to do to be trusted, even if just infinitesimally.

Doctor Levi didn't spare him a second glance as he started to put the protective garments on.

Eren sighed. It seemed that, at least this time, he'd have to stop caring.  
He'd have to stop caring for his own good, because otherwise this situation would continue to slowly take away pieces of him.  
The problem was that, after all those years, there were only a few cracked and misshaped pieces left to take.

-

The next hours passed in a blur.  
Eren was standing at a safe distance from Doctor Levi and from the hood equipped with laminar flow that the man worked under.  
Doctor Levi had made sure that Eren'd be able to look at the process of preparation and, from time to time, he'd step off of the hood to explain a step or a method with few words. He kept the talking to the minimum and Eren didn't have to wonder why. The less one talked, the less risk of contamination there was.

Somewhere in the middle of the preparation, something caught Eren's attention from behind the triple door of the cleanroom.  
He was waiting for Doctor Levi to finish the current flask so he could dictate him the next concentration (Doctor Levi had given him a paper sheet with all the concentrations neatly written on it and he'd told him to itemize them as he worked; Eren's hands had stopped trembling from nervousness only thirty minutes ago) as he registered a movement in front of the cleanroom.

There was a man with silver blond hair that was looking intently at Doctor Levi.  
As Eren cast a quick, unsure glance at Doctor Levi, who was completely focused on his task, the blond man turned around to say something to someone. That someone turned out to be Doctor Smith.

Eren didn't know what to do. He tried to keep his eyes on Doctor Levi's hands, but he found it impossible. There was an unsettling urgency in the man's eyes.  
When he looked up again, Doctor Smith was already looking at Eren.  
His blue eyes slowly moved from Eren to Doctor Levi and to Eren again, and he nodded.  
Eren understood.

He opened his mouth to speak and the word left his mouth muffled by the fabric of the face mask.

"Sir-," he started, but Doctor Levi ignored him.  
Eren, however, didn't miss the angered clench of his jaw.  
He looked back at Doctor Smith. The two men were still standing in front of the cleanroom.

Eren gathered his thoughts. If Doctor Levi's boss was here, the matter was probably urgent.

"Sir, there are two men waiting for you outside the cleanroom. One of them is Doctor Smith," he said.

Doctor Levi stepped away from the hood, visibly annoyed, and looked at Eren.

"Tell him to wait," he said. "And yes, that means you're out," he added and Eren winced.  
"I've warned you about speak-," Doctor Levi continued, letting his gaze travel to the door for a second, and stopped.

Eren could've sworn that the man's legs wavered as Doctor Levi gripped the edge of the hood.  
There was pure pain in his eyes.

Eren had never seen such desperation in one's gaze. He had to look away because he couldn't bear it and because his heart got stuck in his throat.

He looked at Doctor Smith with alarm.

"Don't move and don't touch anything while I'm gone," Doctor Levi said softly and Eren froze.

He'd thought that the plain tone of voice of the man was bad.  
He'd been so, so wrong.  
This one was _heartbreaking_.

He couldn't do anything but look as Doctor Levi passed the airlock and took off the cap, the googles and the coverall with what seemed to be trembling hands.

He couldn't do anything but look as Doctor Levi straightened his back and went out with his head high, only to be met halfway by the man with the silver blond hair.

The cleanroom wasn't soundproof; that's why Eren heard the man's words clearly.

"It's worked, Levi!," the man almost shouted as tears fell from his eyes, which color Eren couldn't see.

Doctor Levi stood completely unmoving.

The man gripped his forearms and shook the smaller man.

"The treatment has worked! God, _your preparation has worked!_ " he exclaimed and Eren saw that Doctor Smith was smiling.  
He knew that he shouldn't look or listen, but he couldn't stop himself from doing it.  
His eyes were glued to Doctor Levi's back.

"Isabel's blood tests came back an hour ago," he man said, more gently, and he put his arms around Doctor Levi's shoulders to hug him tightly.

A few moments passed.

Then, slowly, almost uncertainly, Doctor Levi rose his arms and embraced the blond man. Eren could see the knuckles of his hands, white from gripping tightly.

When Doctor Smith put his hands on the men's shoulders, Eren looked away and didn't dare to look up anymore.

He wasn't sure how much time had passed; maybe five minutes, maybe fifty.  
At some point, though, he was greeted by a familiar voice. When he finally looked up, he saw Mike, all dressed up in protection garments, going in the direction of the hood.  
The tall man stopped in front of Eren, his eyes gentle, and said:

"Would you mind telling me where did Doctor Levi stop with the preparation? I'll finish it as soon as I can, since you've been here for a while".

Eren nodded mechanically and responded that Mike shouldn't trouble himself about him. He told Mike what was left to do and stood, patiently, while the man worked.

Mike was astonishing in his movements and in his precision; Eren could easily say that. He just couldn't get himself to care.

-

That evening, he received a call from Doctor Smith.

Doctor Levi had taken a week off.

 


	10. Chapter 10

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Eren's internship starts properly.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So... This is a brief chapter. I know that I usually don't go under 6000 words, but this chapter has been:  
> 1\. Difficult, VERY difficult to write,  
> 2\. I think that it's better to give it proper space and not to let this important event get lost among many words. 
> 
> I'm still super busy, but I promise I'll keep posting. 
> 
> I cannot thank You enough for Your comments under the last chapter and under all the others. The fact that there are people who follow this story and who wait for new updates truly warms my heart and my mind and it pushes me to write more.   
> I hope You all have a lovely, lovely day.

The next week passed excruciatingly slowly and uncomfortably quickly at the same time. Eren knew that it didn't made much sense, but it happened often, when the hours stretched out mercilessly between the pages of the textbooks, yet the days kept skipping inevitably towards the unavoidable.   
Doctor Levi had taken a whole week off and this thought had haunted Eren for the past seven days. He didn't know what had happened. He had always been a good observer and he had always been able to come to conclusions (not always right), but this time was different. This time he just had no clue.   
He couldn't stop himself from thinking that Doctor Levi would revoke his tutorship, because last Monday was the first time that Eren had _seen_ the emotions that the man had always hidden with utmost perfection.   
Eren wouldn't be surprised if the man didn't want him around anymore, since Eren wasn't supposed to look, but he had looked nonetheless.

So, overall, the past week had been mentally challenging, not only because of Doctor Levi, but because Eren had never been this screwed with his studies.   
He would've stabbed himself in the eye rather than admit that Jean, of all people, had helped him the most, because it was Jean and because he'd evilly tricked Eren into accepting a challenge he hadn't had any chance of winning. It had gone more or less like this:

~~~  
Eren had been studying, basking almost greedily in warm sun rays on Wednesday afternoon, when a hand had smacked him on the head out of nowhere.

"Mother fucker!" was the only thing Eren had managed to say before he'd knocked his elbow on the edge of the table. Instantaneous paralysis had overtaken his forearm, pulsing in the rhythm of Jean's evil laughter.

Eren had spun and he'd kicked him on the knee, massaging the back of his head.  
 _Let's see who'd have the last laugh_.

Unsurprisingly, it had been Jean.

"Still on that chapter, you loser?" the boy'd said, smirking and glancing at Eren's book.   
As if Eren hadn't been sulking before.

"Get out, Jean," Eren had groaned in response, "when you're in a five-meter radius, my intelligence gets heavily affected," he'd said and then he'd widened his eyes in feigned terror.  
"Oh dear, what if your mental limits are contagious?! Get Mikasa! Let's see if she can still recite the periodic table!" Eren had added, but he hadn't been really putting any feelings into his acting. In fact, Jean hadn't moved. At all.

They'd just stared at each other.

"I bet I'll finish my chapter before you even get to the next page," Jean had said after a while and Eren had finally blinked; his eyes had been getting ashy. It had been worth it, though, since he'd won the staring contest.   
He then had looked at the long-ass mathematical demonstration that he'd still had to learn and he'd quickly evaluated his chances.   
Mediocre at best.

"I'm in," he'd responded, obviously, because there was no backing off from a direct defiance.

He and Jean had looked at each other some more.

"I bet the next week's cleaning duty," Jean had said, arching an eyebrow in a challenging manner.  
Eren had groaned. Next week Jean had to clean the whole living room.

Eren would've given up, had he known any better.

"I'm in," he'd repeated.   
~~~

So, it had been super unfair. And tricky.

Right now, Eren was lying in his bed and, as he checked if his morning alarm had been set, he wondered if the next day he'd be reassigned to another tutor.

-

The Titan was always the same in the mornings. The first thing that greeted everyone was the smell of sanitizer and floor detergent that enveloped the ground floor. Some people probably found it harsh, but Eren liked it. He liked it when places had a distinctive smell. It gave him a sense of stability... Reliability, even.

He recognized some of the faces among the clients and was pleasantly surprised when a head nodded at him here and there. He thought that these were probably the basics of the delicate trust-relationships the clients had with the doctors.   
He smiled to himself when he saw a particular elderly woman; she came here often. She had a grandson with celiac disease who she was rising all alone and, sometimes, it was difficult for her to afford gluten-free food. Only a part of it was refunded by the State. Nonetheless, she came every Monday, when the choice of the products was wide, and she bought the chocolate muffins. Her grandson's favorites, she'd told them. And she couldn't believe that they'd become so cheap a year or so ago!   
The fact was, they hadn't, but Hannes had found a loophole in the prizing system and had ordered dozens of packs. Doctor Pixis knew, of course. He'd shrugged off the thing when Doctor Smith had asked. "Must've been a fortunate mistake on the factory's side", he'd said.

Eren smiled wider when the woman put a bag of freshly baked cookies in Hannes' hands.

"Miss Fischer, there's no need to-," Hannes tried to protest, passing a hand through his short hair.

"Stop it right there, young man! With all the money I save I could bake thrice this much!" she interrupted him with high-pitched voice, pointing her big umbrella at Hannes in a gesture that bore no argument.   
She winked at Eren as he passed and laughter bubbled in his chest.   
Women were _scary_.

He glanced at the Garrison, but Doctor Pixis was nowhere to be seen. With a deep sigh, he looked at the laboratory doors.   
There was no point to delay what was going to happen anyway.   
He pushed the doors and went for his locker. This part of the Pharmacy had always been pleasantly quiet, in contrast to the vending section.

Lost in his thoughts, Eren sat down on the bench and untied his outdoor shoes.   
Then, out of nowhere, a very polished boot stomped loudly on the same bench, right beside him.   
Eren reacted in the only possible way: he banged his head on the locker with violence as he briskly looked up, shielding the most part of his face. A hiss of pain escaped his mouth, but it stopped almost immediately on its track.

Jesus Christ.  
Doctor Levi looked even more terrifying seen from below.

Eren tried not to jump to conclusions, but he was at disadvantage, trapped between Doctor Levi and the lockers. He swallowed. Maybe the man was here to dispose of him. Maybe, instead of reassigning him, they'd just kill him.   
Now that Eren was thinking about it, Doctor Smith looked like someone with connections to people who buried bodies, behind all that benevolent façade...

Before he managed to properly panick, Doctor Levi sat beside him with a thud.   
Eren didn't know what to do, so he just fixed his stare on the lockers on the opposite side of the corridor and tried not to think about death.

Doctor Levi spoke soon.

"Say, Eren, do you resent me?".

Eren was definitely, utterly sure that his heart had skipped a beat.   
He turned his head and looked at the other man with parted lips.

_Say... Eren..._

He wanted to say ' _Excuse me?_ ', but as he met the other man's eyes, he understood that Doctor Levi would not repeat himself.  
He closed his mouth, while Doctor Levi looked at him calmly. Patiently, even.

As Eren glanced back down at his joined hands, he thought about everything that had happened in the past weeks. He thought about all the ugly things that Doctor Levi had said to him and about how they'd weighted on Eren's shoulders, just like all the shadows that had made Doctor Levi's back bend when he thought that no one was looking.   
He thought about anger, about mourning, and about that evening at the pub.   
Eren looked up again and he thought about the incredible strength of this man, who had looked like he'd lost everything, and yet he'd kept on going, day by day, just for other people's sake.

"No, sir," he responded quietly, tracing the lockers with his gaze. It was safer not to look at Doctor Levi; many people had told him that his eyes betrayed what he thought.

"That's good," Doctor Levi responded. He sounded less tired and Eren was tempted to look at him, just to see if the hollowness around his eyes had lost a bit of its depth.   
He did not move his eyes from the lockers, not until the other man stood up and took a thick envelope out of a black briefcase that Eren hadn't noticed before.   
He extended the envelope to Eren.

"This is a detailed plan that lists the goals you'll reach under my supervision during the next eleven months," he explained.   
"Enough time had been wasted...," the man's voice hovered a little and Eren finally looked at his face, "... but I'm glad that you've already learned the basics of the inventory and of the reagents' titration," Doctor Levi concluded and Eren's throat tightened a bit. He thought that he'd been subtle.   
There was, however, no anger nor annoyance in the man's features. Eren exhaled.   
"Once you've gotten over all the informations, come to my study. You'll be starting right away," Doctor Levi informed him and, just like that, he left.

Eren might've or might've not sat for five minutes with anything but blankness in his mind.   
He took the sheets of paper out with trembling hands. There were many, many pages, but the only thing that Eren paid attention to was the fact that they were all filled with neat, precise handwriting that he knew so well. Every single word had been written by Doctor Levi; it had probably taken days to fill all the lines.   
As he started to read, he realized that he was completely, absolutely _screwed_. He'd never hate the man again. Hell, he'd probably let Doctor Levi beat him, had it meant that Eren could be his intern.

 


	11. Chapter 11

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> I hope You enjoy.   
> Still unedited, all the errors are mine.
> 
> Comments and Kudos are very welcomed.
> 
> Oh, and Happy New Year. Might it be better than the last one.

It took Eren quite some time to go over every goal that Doctor Levi had listed and man - weren't there many. Some of the preparations or techniques weren't even included in his study program, but if his tutor had put them there, then it meant that maybe Eren would need to know them sooner or later.   
He almost felt guilty - he didn't even want to work in a pharmacy after getting his degree. At the same time, though, he couldn't shake off the annoying smile that appeared once the other man had left. A few hand written pages didn't mean that Doctor Levi had accepted him. It meant that he was only doing his job.   
Eren put the papers back inside the envelope and he put on his coat, tugging and the cuffs. He tied his hair and he looked at the laboratory door.   
He would become the best god-damned trainee his University and Doctor Levi had ever seen. 

-

The laboratory was already buzzing with activity. It appeared that today was the delivery day and almost everyone was unpacking new reagents and substances. Eren even caught a glimpse of Doctor Zoë directing two red-faced and sweaty delivery man with a huge box to their laboratory.   
Doctor Levi stood beside the pile of boxes that was almost higher than himself, with a document in one hand and a pen in the other. His eyes were quickly scanning the wares as he marked down some things on the document, but at one point he furrowed his brows and spoke quietly to one of the delivery man, who immediately turned to the boxes, as if looking for something.   
Eren didn't manage to divert his eyes in time, because Doctor Levi looked at the lab, probably to assess the situation, and caught Eren staring. He nodded at him, motioning with his head to come closer.   
Eren's curiosity peaked.

"Look," the older man said, turning the folder in his hand to let Eren see.   
"This is a typical invoice," he explained as Eren read the substances listed alphabetically on the document.  
"The firm that we order from attaches the invoice to the delivery. As you can see, it includes every product," Doctor Levi said, indicating the list that Eren was looking at with the pen, without touching the paper with its tip, "the name of the manufacturer," he continued, tracing the column at the center of the invoice, "and the number of packages," he concluded, showing Eren the last column, filled with numbers.   
After one last glance at the paper Eren looked up, feeling Doctor Levi's gaze on him, and nodded in understanding.   
The older man turned to the boxes.   
"It's our duty to check if every item has been delivered in the quantity that's indicated. Every box has an adhesive with the name of the substance it contains, the conventional identification symbols, the storage temperature-," Doctor Levi indicated a white sticker on one of the bigger boxes and Eren got closer, wanting to get a good look at all those informations, "- and the bar code".

Eren knew that Doctor Levi didn't have much time, but he still spent a good minute looking at everything. He didn't want to miss anything because of the rush, since he knew that the older man wouldn't repeat the things he'd said. 

Once he was done, he straightened his back and nodded again. 

"Good," Doctor Levi said, looking back at Eren.  
For a second, his grey gaze seemed so familiar that Eren mind went blank. The man's lips were moving, but he still lost the first part of the sentence.   
"... finished checking, you can run another check on your own," his tutor said, holding out a copy of the invoice.   
Eren blinked. The impression of the familiarity vanished as quickly as it had appeared, but the strange sensation he'd felt was still there.   
He realized that Doctor Levi was waiting for him to take the paper sheet.

"O-of course," he replied, tucking a strand of his hair behind his ear.   
He patted his pockets, but he didn't have any pen.

"Here," the other man said, passing Eren his own. 

"Thank you," the boy said rapidly.  
"I'll return it to you as soon as I'm done," he added.

"There's no need to," Doctor Levi replied.  
"Erwin prides himself on the popularity of the Titan Pharmacy and on its merchandise. We have plenty," he said. 

Silence fell down heavily. Eren didn't know what to respond besides a 'thank you', but he'd already said that. Doctor Levi, on the other hand, wasn't bound to do small talk and, again, there weren't things not related to the internship that he wanted to discuss with Eren.

"Do not hurry if you don't have to," Doctor Levi spoke after a moment.   
It was impressive, really, that even when his eyes showed no anger nor command, Eren still found it difficult to look away. It felt like the man was always delivering a part of the message with his gaze, and Eren didn't want to miss a thing.   
"It might be a tedious task, but the monotony doesn't make it less important".

Eren glanced down at the long list in his hands and then looked back up, but Doctor Levi was already gone. 

He spotted him some time later among Petra, Gunther and Doctor Bozado, with his gloved hands full of products as helped to put everything in place. The only thing that interrupted the rustle of the cardboard was Petra's cheerful laughter and, for the first time, Eren felt at peace. 

-

Eren walked around the boxes for the third time. He was sure that he'd catalogued every one of them, even the smaller ones in the middle of the stack, but there were still two packages missing.   
Could it be possible? Did it happen on a regular basis? Or maybe this particular substance was known with another name that Eren didn't recall? He was sure that Doctor Levi had noticed it, so was he done?   
He sighed. So many questions and so little answers.   
Eren did what he considered logic: he left everything as it was and went searching his tutor. 

Doctor Levi turned out to be in his office. The door was slightly open, but Eren knocked nonetheless. He closed his eyes for a moment, not wanting to remember the last time he'd been there.   
Stupid, he thought, you attribute too much importance to things, as always.  
Once he heard a muffled invitation, he came in. 

At first glance, nothing had changed. The office was clean to the extreme and the furniture was as dark as Eren remembered. Doctor Levi was still surrounded by some documents and his shirt was still perfectly ironed, but his desk was not empty anymore. In fact, there were a few frames, undoubtedly filled with pictures, and a small flowerpot with colorful flowers (Eren was sure that they had a name, he just was as bad in botany as he was in geography) stood on a small table in the corner of the room. 

Eren wondered, not for the first time, what had happened in the past days.   
He had to admit it, he did a good job at keeping himself from checking the substances that Doctor Levi had been using for his unknown preparation because:  
1\. He didn't want to be a nosy asshole, for once;  
2\. Even if he'd want to be a nosy asshole, hypothetically of course, he was so back in his studies that the familiar anxiety had overtaken the last scraps of his lucidity.  
Still, that didn't stop Eren from drawing hazardous and unlikely right conclusions about what he'd witnessed in the cleanroom.   
See, Eren might've seen "C.S.I. - Miami" one too many times and he tended to overestimate his deduction abilities. Still, it wasn't a surprise, not when one's idea of 'powers of deduction' was based on a well-placed, shabby phrase accompanied by a dramatic taking off of sunglasses. Yet, he did have some ideas. One, to be precise: the mysterious Isabel was most likely Doctor Levi's wife. That would explain the ring on his finger. But, if that was the case, who was the man who'd brought the news? Not a Doctor Levi's close relative, judging by the hair color.   
Still, if Doctor Levi had a wife, would he spend all of his free time in the Pharmacy? Well, it wasn't excludable, seen as -

"Didn't they tell you that it's rude to stare, kid? Not to mention that it's creepy," Doctor Levi said and Eren snapped back to reality. He must've been looking at his tutor without realizing it. He did that when he analyzed stuff.   
His face grew hot. 

"I apologize, sir. I don't do it on purpose," he explained, trying to hold onto the few remains of his dignity.   
Then he remember what he came for in the first place.  
"Um, sir, I've checked all the packages and I've noticed that two of them are missing".

Doctor Levi surveyed him with a neutral expression.

"Are you sure?".

Eren was fairly sure. He met his tutor's eyes.  
Doctor Levi looked much younger like this, without all that wariness in his gaze and in the lines of his mouth. Eren could've easily mistaken him for his peer, had he met him on the street. 

"Yes, sir," he responded. He was tired of being unsure.

"Very well," the other man responded, lifting himself up.   
"We have an announcement to make".

Eren looked at him questioningly.

"We've been authorized to prepare a batch of a new antibiotic/beta-lactamase inhibitor association for the Maria Hospital. Perhaps you've heard about it during some of your courses," he said, passing by and pushing the door open, glancing at Eren while he did that. 

Now that Eren finally had his attention, after weeks of being ignored, he wasn't sure if he really desired it. There was a weight to Doctor Levi's gaze that Eren didn't think he could bear. It made him want to be someone to be proud of, and it was a foreign thought to somebody who had never sought validation in others. 

"Ceftazidime and avibactam," he responded almost automatically, "designed to treat serious Gram - infections, among others," he added, leaving the room behind his tutor and closing the door.

"Eren," Doctor Levi called him and Eren turned around hastily, wondering if he'd ever get used to being called by his name. 

Something hit him hard on the center of his forehead and he was so surprised that he caught the object before it fell down to the ground with pure reflex.

It was the cup pad.

"Next time you wanna disobey me, pick something that won't leave glue stains on my desk," his tutor said. There it was - that danger in his voice. "Otherwise, you'll clean every piece of my furniture with bare hands until I can see my reflection in the wood".

-

During the next days Eren had the opportunity to witness how the atmosphere in the Pharmacy changed since Doctor Levi came back. Maybe it had been like this before, maybe his tutor hadn't always been such a prick, but Eren couldn't know that. What he knew, though, was that now things were different and he could see that in the smiles of the workers, in conversations that were held more often and more lightly and in the warmth of the greetings that Doctor Levi received from his squad every time he came out of the clean room.   
There were still some young employees that were terrified every time his tutor passed by, but Doctor Levi didn't seem angry anymore. He didn't even curse so much, which was refreshing. Eren would've never thought that his idol had such a filthy mouth.   
He even saw the other man having a walk with Doctor Smith and Doctor Zoë a couple of times. Maybe the three of them were friends, just like him, Armin and Mikasa?   
Eren didn't have much time to ponder on that. In all honesty, he didn't have much time to do anything besides doing everything that Doctor Levi told him to do and finishing all the work in four short hours, spending the rest of the day in the vending section and studying in the evenings. The examination's date was quickly approaching and Eren truly didn't want to panic, but he'd soon have to study during his lunch break in he wanted to wrap all the arguments until the deadline. 

He could make it. 

What he couldn't do, apparently, was to bring a cup of tea upstairs. His hands were shaking because he'd just prepared 600 capsules and his patience was thinner than ever. He also almost spilled the beverage for the fourth time in the span of 27 seconds. He didn't know why, but his inadvertency made him think of Shadis, which only made him angrier.   
His mind liked to play tricks on him in the hardest times, just to make him more miserable.

Doctor Levi's office was closed and Eren prepared himself to open the door, but once he got closer, he heard voices coming from the inside. It seemed that the older man was having guests.   
For a brief moment, Eren thought about going away. He didn't mind to bring the tea every day, but he knew that it made him look like a manservant rather than a trainee. In fact, he'd already received a few strange glances from some workers he didn't know. Apparently, the word traveled fast in the Pharmacy. Eren didn't like it now just like he hadn't liked it in that small, close-minded city of his, but people from different environments weren't all that diverse, in the end. He wondered why they were so quick to judge the others. There was nothing for them to gain from doing it, besides an illusion of superiority. 

He glanced at the tea pad. He'd removed all the tape.   
He knocked. Screw everybody. 

"Come in!" somebody exclaimed and it couldn't have been Doctor Levi. That man couldn't possibly muster such vivacity. 

Eren pressed the doorknob and pushed at the same time that someone opened the door from the inside, which resulted in Eren slowly falling forwards. 

God save the porcelain, he thought, shielding the cup. He couldn't afford to buy such a nice piece if this one broke. 

A pair of arms gripped him midway, but some of the tea spilled. 

"Hi, you must be Eren. I'm Furlan," the man that had steadied him said and it took Eren a moment to recognize that face with pale hair and pale eyes.   
The guy from the cleanroom.   
Before he could respond, the man started to talk again.  
"Sorry for that," he smiled apologetically, tilting his head at the door.

"You better clean that stain, Furlan, before it taints my floor for good," an already well known voice spoke from the direction of the desk.

The man, Furlan, got closer to Eren and confided quietly:  
"I'm sorry, but he's always this grumpy". 

Eren wasn't sure if he preferred to leave the room as quickly as possible or if he wanted to rig up an answer to that statement. He couldn't just say 'I know', could he? 

"Is it true that you've called brother Levi an asshole?" a curious, feminine voice spoke from somewhere and Eren instinctively turned his head. 

There was a girl perched on Doctor Levi's desk.   
She looked very young, like a teenager. She hopped off of the work surface and a few things happened simultaneously.  
A small ring on a strand slipped out of the girl's shirt, moving in unison with an IV tube that hung from her arm. Eren's eyes followed it right to a bag that was attached to a hanger, connected to a wheelchair. 

"Watch your mouth," Doctor Levi warned her, but his tone was more annoyed than chastising.   
At the same time, the other man, Furlan, got closer to her, as if afraid that she would fall, exclaiming:  
"You shouldn't move so fast!". 

The girl turned to Doctor Levi.  
"I'm only quoting Hange," she said, smiling mischievously, before rolling her eyes at Furlan, but she still hugged him as she approached Eren. 

"Hi, I'm Isabel, and you are...?" she asked, smiling, as she took out her small hand for Eren to shake. 

Everything slowed down in Eren's mind.  
So this was Isabel. Eren hadn't tried to imagine her, not really. If he'd tried, though, he wouldn't have imagined her like this.   
She wasn't short, but her height underlined painfully how skinny she was instead of making him admire her.   
She had green eyes, but not like Eren's. Hers were darker and bigger, almost too big for a face so pale and so thin.   
Eren couldn't guess the color of her hair, because what was left of it was covered by a violet scarf.   
Eren's chest tightened. She was far too young to suffer the atrocities of a tumor. 

He must've stared a second too long, because Isabel's smile slowly fell down and the glimmer in her eyes faded. 

"I guess violet is not my color, isn't it?" she spoke softly, looking down. 

Eren felt terribly. He, of all people, should know what it meant to be looked at with pity, and there was nothing to pity about this girl. 

He smiled and looked at her scarf, tilting his head. 

"I'm a guy so I don't know much about these things, but I think that red would've been better," he answered, shaking her hand, and he didn't even know why he'd said that, but he meant it. Red would've looked good on her.   
"My name is Eren".

Isabel lifted her eyes and her cheeks tinted with pink. Her smile reappeared instantly as she turned to Doctor Levi.

He must've been looking at Eren, because his gaze shifted a bit towards Isabel.

"I told you that I didn't like that scarf," he said and then he looked back at Eren.   
Eren's answer must have been a right one, then. He quietly let out a breath.  
He glanced back at the girl just in time to see her taking off the piece of material.   
Her hair was very short and even, and it was dark red.   
Eren's smile widened and then he remembered that he still had the tea in one hand. 

"I'm sorry," he apologized, going around Isabel. He felt uneasy, with three pairs of eyes watching his every move, but he still managed to put the cup in front of his tutor.   
"Oh," he said, realizing something and glancing back at Doctor Levi's two guests. "Would you like some tea as well?".

"No," Isabel said, looking at the man behind the desk.  
"Levi and Furlan promised to take me to a coffee bar to have an actual coffe, since I'm already seventeen," she said matter-of-factly and Eren could've sworn that he saw the corner of Doctor Levi's mouth quirk up. 

"Then it was a pleasure meeting you," he answered genuinely.

"Likewise," Furlan responded, shaking Eren's hand. Isabel did the same. 

"Pixis and Hannes are out, today," his tutor said.   
Eren waited.  
"You're free to go home," the man added with slight exasperation, since Eren was not getting it. 

Today was Friday and only Armin and Mikasa would be coming home in the afternoon.   
Eren looked at the three people in the room.

"Thank you, sir," he said and, with the last bow of his head, he left the room. 

He wondered if he still remembered how to make his mother's soup.   
He missed his friends and he knew that it sounded strange, since they lived in the same house, but now that they were all busy he found himself longing for the times when they were younger. 

-

It didn't take him much to buy all the ingredients. His stomach dropped a little when he saw the bill, but Eren wasn't a poor person, nor was he tightfisted. He had a bank account that held enough money to live with dignity for at least a couple of years, but he didn't want to spend any of it. These were the money the State sent to everyone considered tragically orphaned. These were the money he'd gained from his mother's death. He wouldn't touch it unless he had no other choice. Then, if things went askew after their graduation, if neither of them managed to quickly find a job, Eren would be able to provide for himself, for Mikasa and for Armin.   
Besides, he didn't need anything. He already had all.

The apartment was pleasantly quiet. Marco and Jean went back to visit their families, and so did Sasha. Connie had no family to go to, just like Eren and his two best friends, but he and Sasha had known each other for long; Sasha's father adored him. Eren vaguely remembered the man: he had all the qualities a respectable hunter should have. 

He laid out all the vegetables and the meat on the countertop.   
Now, methodically, he thought to himself.   
He washed the meat and sliced it. His mother seasoned everything without even trying the food in the meantime, but somehow everything always turned out delicious. Eren was fairly sure that he bought all the spices he remembered from their old kitchen. Hesitating a bit, he added them to a bowl and he amalgamated them with a pestle. Then, he peeled the potatoes and the carrots. He was careful not to peel off too much of the actual vegetable.   
There had been a time when every bite had counted, and old habits died hard. 

Soon, everything was cooking in a pot. 

It was 3 PM. All would be ready in time.  
Eren set the table, pulled out his textbook and threw himself on the couch. 

-

Mikasa arrived before Armin, just a couple of hours later. She didn't hide her surprise as she touched Eren's shoulder, greeting him. Then, she took advantage of the fact that their friend wasn't at home and she went to the bathroom to take a shower. 

Eren lifter himself up with a groan. The lack of the physical exercise, combined with standing up for 8 hours everyday, made his back ache. Or maybe it was the position he'd been in for the past two hours. 

Armin strolled through the front door before Mikasa came out of the shower.   
His cheeks were flushed and his eyes were barely visible from behind his woolen hat. Soon, they'd have to turn on the heating. 

He pulled a slightly crumpled box out of his backpack.

"Today was the owner's birthday and almost every client brought him something," he said, trying to untangle himself from his scarf and Eren took the box out of his hand just to avoid the struggle.   
"Thanks," Armin smiled, hanging everything on their old hanger and distractedly pushing aside the blond hair that continually fell onto his eyes.   
"Strawberry cake," he said dreamily as he grabbed the box again and put it in the fridge.   
His face lightened up even more when he glanced into the pot.   
"Man, a perfect Friday night!". 

Eren laughed a bit. While they waited for Mikasa to dry her hair, he silently agreed with his friend. 

-

"So, how's everything going?" Armin asked, chewing on a piece of beef and humming happily. 

"You look tired," Mikasa stated, taking a sip of the steaming soup. 

"I am," Eren admitted and Mikasa stood up to slice some bread.   
"Doctor Levi made a list of everything I'd have to do during the whole year and it's, like, fifty pages".

Armin made some space at the center of the table while Mikasa put down the plate with the slices. Eren swiftly took one and soaked it in the soup. 

"He finally started to treat you seriously?" his sister asked conversationally, but Eren knew that tone. Mikasa didn't do conversation.   
He stood up and gave her the envelope.   
While she read, Eren and Armin decided to send an email to the team members. No more skipping practice. 

"It looks like a lot of commitment, Eren," she said after a while.   
"Do you have time to study?".

Eren hated to lie to her, he truly did, but he didn't want her to worry more than she already did. 

"Of course, 'kasa, I've almost finished," he answered, fishing a piece of potato out of the bowl. 

"What made him change his mind?" Armin asked, devouring more bread.   
For a boy so small he sure ate a lot. 

Eren didn't know if he could tell them everything, but on the other hand he trusted them with his life. It was more probable that he'd spill something inadvertently than that Mikasa or Armin would talk. 

He told them what he knew. 

"... and today, as I was bringing him tea -" Eren ignored Mikasa's questioning look "- I met that man, Furlan, and Isabel. She must've recently beaten cancer," he concluded, trying not to sound too sad.   
If she really was Doctor Levi's sister, then Eren couldn't imagine the stress he'd been under. He shifted his chair closer to Mikasa. 

"Furlan?!" Armin exclaimed, startling Eren. "Furlan Church?".

Eren shook his head.  
"I don't know his last name".

"Blond hair, grey eyes?" his friend asked.

"Yes!" Eren answered.   
"Do you know him?".

"He works with my tutor," Armin responded. "He's one of the best logistic minds I've ever met and he graduated from Trost. I yet have to see him struggle to solve a problem. He just comes out with a solution, like this!" Armin recounted, snapping his fingers with emphasis. 

Hm. Maybe Doctor Levi and Furlan met at the University. 

"Then I think you'd like Doctor Smith, the owner of the Titan," Eren said, already imagining the awe in Armin's eyes at the sight of the man's intellect. 

Mikasa put her spoon down with more force than necessary. 

Okay, it wasn't the right argument to discuss in her presence. Mikasa never forgot the wrongs.   
She stood up again, this time to clean the dishes, and Eren followed her quickly. 

A folded piece of paper fell out of her jeans' pocket. Eren picked it up. It was some kind of application, but it was different from their University's ones. 

He unfolded it, but before he could read anything Mikasa snatched it from his fingers. 

"It isn't important," she said quietly, turning back to the sink. 

Eren felt a surge of anger.

"So we're hiding things from each other now?" he asked.

The room felt silent. Even Armin stopped to slurp the remaining of his portion.   
For a moment, Eren was afraid that Mikasa would ignore him. 

"No," she answered after a few seconds.   
"I'm sorry," she added a bit later and she faced them. She unfolded the paper completely and passed it to Eren.

"It's an application for this year's EMA's congress".

Eren opened his mouth. 

"Congratulations! I had no doubt!" Armin cheered as he got up and embraced Mikasa with impetus.

"I'm not going anywhere," she said hard.   
"Neither of you is in this year's top three". 

Eren looked at her. The brave, brilliant Mikasa. He wouldn't let her hold back. Not anymore. 

"You're going," he answered.

"Eren-".

"No, Mikasa. Let us be proud of you for one god-damned moment and go. You deserve it. Hell, there isn't anybody who deserves it more than you," Eren didn't let her finish, giving the application back to her. 

Mikasa didn't take it back. 

"We promise we won't burn the house down while you're gone," Armin said tentatively, standing beside Eren and looking at their friend. 

"Be outstanding," was the last thing Eren told her. 

Mikasa bit her lip. 

The worry lines on her forehead smoothed a little some time later, when Eren sat on her right and Armin on her left, just as she started to fill the form.   
Even she couldn't fight a small smile once she'd signed the last page.


End file.
